Basti is not a gamble. He is still one of the world's best midfielders easily. Guardiola - the Catalan Klinsmann - is destroying Bayern Munich, and Rummenigge the idiot is letting it happen. The next one he will try to get rid of is Thomas Mueller. Basically, the Catalan ******* is ripping Bayern's heart out. And then he will be gone.
Basti is certainly a gamble, not because of skill, he's still a great player. But because of injuries and because he's soon to be 31. Mueller is my ultimate muppet signing, but I don't think he will ever leave Bayern. Regardless, I'm starting to like Pep a little bit more than before
So what, 31...he is still great. The only problem at Bayern was and is Pep. Schweinsteiger will still dominate for 3 years. He is instantly the best central midfielder in the Premier League. He is a leader. Van Gaal knows exactly why he has been so keen to get him. Van Gaal is the best coach Bayern has had in the last 10 years (with Jupp - van Gaal laid the foundation for Jupp's success). Guardiola is on the same level als Klinsmann: The worst coach Bayern has had in the last 10 years.
Respect your opinion on this. And I agree with you that he's still a great player. I certainly believe he has it in him to be great for 3 years. But the reason I say he's a gamble is that he's been injury riddled and even though he keeps in great shape and is a fantastic footballer right this moment, you never know when that decline hits you when you are in your thirties.
He's fit now. He'll do great (barring a freak injury), trust me. The more I think about it, as much as I am a Bayern fan, as a friend, it's probably the best thing. Man U has more exposure internationally - in Asia and the USA, specifically. If this goes well, it will make him even more of a global brand.
Bayern: We won't interfer with Darmian and let him go to you, also will let Schweini walk to you without making it difficult. In exchange, you let di Maria go to us for an acceptable amount? ManU: Deal! .... This is how I see it right now. Bayern were heavily involved in the Darmian stakes and completely backed out suddenly, all makes too much sense.
Now that it's official, I'm really sad. I never thought I would see Schweinsteiger play for another team. He will be missed on and off the court, really hope Sammer and Rummenigge know what they're doing. On the other hand, club legends like Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller also signed in minor leagues and the later stages of their careers.
He always said he'd like to play in another country, especially in Premier league. Think there's too much talk about Pep at the moment, think Basti planned to eventually leave and experience something new for a long time, this was his last chance. As you said, a lot of legends did something similar and I don't think it means there was bad blood between Schweini and Pep. (although ATW might know more, so I don't want to say my version is right)
Called it in the other thread. Schweinsteiger to United. Inside sauces. Liked him ever since he broke out as a right winger way back and always wanted him Bayern fans - how did he look last season? How many more years at the top level
He played left winger. He hasn't looked that great last season. A few games where he looked like the old boss and orchestrated everything, but many games where he had terrible stats and seemed too slow. Think he needed more time off and will be better this season, same with Lahm.
PS my left winger comment was regarding his early years, not last season. He always played like a slow Version of Robben with that tendency to come from the wings and dribble inside for the shot.
Can't really say. He played injured at World Cup, came back with low batteries and didn't reach his level on a constant base. The whole team didn't really click because all the injuries, so it's impossible to say what he has left in the tank.
He would have played even better if the coach had put him at the position where he is best. That's a big part of the reason why this move makes sense for him. Van Gaal is a 100 x better coach than this actor Guardiola.
Van Gaal might be a great coach, but he's terrible in interpersonal relationships. This stubborn narcissist ruined his last season in Munich by ignoring advise and do the opposite thing just on purpose. I was really glad once he got fired.
The problem was mainly between Hoeness and van Gaal, because they are both narcissists. Van Gaal was a fantastic coach except for one thing, he was a bit too inflexible about Robben and Ribery having to hold their positions.
Except for a lot of things - like playing this skinny douchebag Kraft instead of Butt, when everybody knew Kraft wasn't close to being a good enough keeper (and I still don't know why Hertha believes in him today). Every Bundesliga coach looked through his rigid system. I also remember Van Gaal switching the defensive line in literally every game, before he got fired. That's not what a good coach would do. He was on the verge of ruining this club for years.
Well, yes, you got some points there. But the whole problem started because van Gaal did that stuff out of spite because of his ego battle with Hoeness. Could actually add a few things to your list, like the inexplicable acquisitions of Pranjic and Braafheid, whom he even played quite often, etc. Not saying he is perfect. But I think he is less underhanded than Guardiola.
Yeah, I'm not sold on Guardiola either. But if he brings the Bundesliga title and the DFB Pokal back to Munich plus makes at least the Champions League semis again, we're running out of points. Let's just hope he really brings back Lahm to the right side and Alaba to the left.
