#1 The debacle against Real Madrid
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“I got it wrong man. I got it totally wrong. It’s a monumental f***-up. A total mess. The biggest f***-up of my life as a coach.”
In the 2013-14 season, Bayern Munich were nearly unbeaten in the league right up until the tail end of the campaign and were facing Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals. Pep’s first season in charge was already termed as successful with an impressive league campaign but Bayern were also the favourites to win the Champions League. They were the defending Champions and ready to defend their title.
The 180 minutes of football between Bayern and Real Madrid in that semi-final tie are still considered to be some of the most shocking moments in club football.
The first leg at Santiago Bernabeu was completely dominated by Bayern Munich in terms of possession and chances created. But poor finishing let them down as they couldn’t score a goal. Meanwhile, Karim Benzema scored an easy tap in, in the 19th minute to hand the hosts a much-needed advantage for the second leg. Bayern were termed unlucky but they knew they needed to do much better at Allianz Arena to proceed to the final.
Before the return leg, Pep’s overthinking wreaked havoc. He had devised a three-man defence system to play in the second leg to make sure they thwart Real’s counter attacks. However, a few days before the match, he thought a 4-2-3-1 would be more successful. Hours before the match, he changed his mind again and put forward a 4-4-2 extremely attacking system trying to get the best out of the Bayern players’ natural instincts.
This turned out be a complete disaster as the Bayern players seemed as unsure as their coach. They were hapless during counters and set pieces as the midfield of Kroos and Schweinsteiger fell apart spectacularly. They could not hold on to possession at all in the final third and Real Madrid romped to a whopping 0-4 victory with braces from both Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Pep won numerous trophies at Bayern, his tenure would most certainly be known for his failure to win the Champions League and most importantly, this debacle against Real Madrid.
