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Pep va a Torino, in Italia da quattro anni?

(Getty)
Pep Guardiola — the famed Catalan soccer manager who played for and then coached FC Barcelona to glory with this player named Lionel Messi — is the subject of a rumor reaching a fever pitch level.
Is Pep heading to Turin, Italy to coach the Old Lady, commonly known as Juventus?
Speculation in Italian media is that the current Man City man has agreed to a 4-year deal to lead Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus.
Just last week, Pep reiterated his reported denial of a move to Italy.
“How many times do I have to say? I’m not going to go to Juventus, I’m not going to move to Italy.”
But that was last week. Conditions, like those on the pitch during a game, can change.
While confirmation hasn’t been declared by Pep or Man City, this move would fit with the coach’s recent stints in Germany coaching Bayern Munich for three seasons and just finishing up his third season in England coaching Manchester City. This kind of move seems inevitable as Pep appears to be seeking continental club glory.
Literally.
And this is why this rumor should, at least, be entertained. Whether a move to Italy happens or not, it fits with Pep’s pattern of coaching European powerhouse clubs in different countries for just a few years at a time.
Here’s a quick rundown of Pep’s trophy case as a head coach:
- FC Barcelona – 14 trophies (2009 Copa del Rey, La Liga, Champions League, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup; 2010 La Liga, Spanish Super Cup; 2011 La Liga, Champions League, Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup; 2012 Club World Cup, Copa del Rey)
- Bayern Munich – 10 trophies (2013 German Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup; 2014 Bundesliga, German Super Cup, DFB-Pokal; 2015 German Super Club, Bundesliga, German Super Cup; 2016 Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal)
- Manchester City – 5 trophies (2018 Premier League, League Cup; 2019 Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup)
The 48-year-old soccer manager still has at least a couple more decades coaching at the highest level, which is where he’s at right now. And since Pep hasn’t won the Champions League since leaving Barça — getting ever so close in Germany and England — there is a strong chance that the Catalan is yearning to cap his club coaching career with at least one more Champions League title in a country other than Spain without Lionel Messi before tackling a full World Cup cycle(s).
We’ll see if Pep’s pursuit of a return to Champions League glory will be attempted with Man City or Juventus this upcoming season. Something to consider from his perspective is that the chance to coach an in-form 34-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo may prove to be too tempting at this point.
Future Prediction: If Erik ten Hag, formerly of Pep’s coaching tree at Bayern Munich, doesn’t win the Champions League with Ajax during the next few seasons, then it would not be inconceivable that Pep moves to Amsterdam to coach the aforementioned club in the Johan Cruyff ArenA in a few years.
Or, staying in the same time period stated immediately above, Pep could move to Amsterdam but coach the Dutch national team instead to try and help the small yet historically soccer-rich country win its first World Cup. Winning at this level for the Netherlands would make for an incredible full-circle career, doing something special for his late dear friend, former coach and footballing inspiration, Dutch (and FC Barcelona and Ajax) legend Johan Cruyff whose Total Football legacy that started with fellow Dutchman Rinus Michels remains the prominent philosophy over him and modern soccer.
If there’s anyone in soccer who knows with acute detail where the ball will move next, it’s Pep. And if there’s anyone in soccer who knows with clarity and awareness where his admired and prized philosophy is wanted, it’s Pep.
Italian soccer, like Germany and England during the past six seasons, may never be the same again.
Pep’s Boys Won, Yet Lost

(Pep Guardiola)
“I’ve done the best I can do,” said the Bayern Munich manager, searching for the best way to convey his feelings after his side were eliminated from the Champions League by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. “I don’t have any regrets. I’ve done my best and, I don’t know — that’s what I would like to say.”
–ESPN FC, Nick Ames
There is some disillusioned beer drinking occurring in Bavaria tonight.
Despite a spirited, thrilling second leg of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid (one missed penalty by both teams at the same end shooting to the same side), the Bavarian kings could not score that necessary third goal. Though Thomas Müller had his shot/PK.
Rightly or wrongly, the fact that Pep Guardiola went 0-3 for winning the Champions League will define his mostly successful, victorious venture in Munich.
“In his first campaign he collected the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, German Cup and, with a record seven games to spare, the Bundesliga title. He secured his second successive Bundesliga title by ten points the following season…”
–UEFA
Even with all of this, Pep’s time at Bayern Munich will be viewed by many as a losing campaign. The German giants won a lot throughout the past three years, but they lost the most important games with the acclaimed Pep Guardiola as the manager.
The coaching mastermind behind Barcelona’s epic run from 2008-2012 could not defeat Spanish sides Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals during his three years coaching Bayern Munich. If it weren’t for Mr. Guardiola’s public intention to sign with Manchester City this upcoming season, the cliché “3 strikes and you’re out” would be an aptly borrowed metaphor from the sport’s baseball counterpart.
In Pep’s case, trying to craft a winning strategy for his third consecutive Bundesliga title and a German Cup championship is what remains as achievable goals this season. For most, that would be enough. Most, however, are not named Pep Guardiola.
The expectations for Pep moving to Munich, Germany after his yearlong break following his exit from Barcelona were sky-high. Actually, if there’s a place above sky-high, that would be more appropriate.
Pep’s spell at Barcelona has been labeled as one of the greatest club teams in history with one of the best players in history being Lionel Messi. Everyone knew Pep would win in Germany, but people expected him to win everything with soccer itself gasping for air at his conquests wearing sharp suits (and lederhosen for beer drinking). Granted, Jupp Heynckes didn’t do Pep any favors by leading Bayern Munich to the prized treble (included the Champions League title) literally before his arrival in Bavaria.
Mr. Heynckes sort of served his successor a championship team on a platter.
Each coach has different tactics that require different types of players, so maybe Mr. Heynckes did or didn’t leave Pep with everything he needed. That’s a debate that will continue. In the macro, Pep’s inability to win his first season with a remarkably similar squad was disappointing, but understandable if his style of play and injection of “his” players led to a championship(s) down the road.
Sadly, those two subsequent titles never arrived, which means Bayern fans never got to enjoy the immediate or prolonged Guardiola magic in Champions League. This is a failure that will not soon be forgotten and incoming manager Carlo Ancelotti (56) will be tasked with solving this puzzle with one of the best rosters on the planet.
The young innovator makes way for the elder statesman.
Pep Guardiola was hired to win trebles. Yes, that’s trebles plural. Fair or not, that’s the truth. The pain, suffering, talent, patience, resilience and magic-in-a-bottle needed to win one treble qualifies for a lifetime of glorious storytelling and recounting in your local pub.
Just ask Jupp Heynckes.
For loyal Bayern Munich fans, like myself, the pain of today’s 2-1 win at home at the Allianz Arena in front of 75,000 fans (but 2-2 aggregate loss to Atlético Madrid) in devastatingly heart-pounding fashion will not heal for some time. The infinitely popular question, “how did they not win?” will not merely focus on this season, but will fiercely grab onto the past two seasons of mirror image outcomes and never let go.
Some may argue that Pep can finally breathe a little easier now. The German press will continue to crush him, sure, but the pressure has been eased a bit.
Quite the contrary.
If Man City pulls off a miracle and wins the Champions League this year, Pep will experience precisely the same high-pressure situation in England, except to a harsher extent. Even if Man City fails to pull off said miracle, the situation is practically identical. He won the biggest prize at Barcelona and not at Bayern Munich. That’s resulted in a knock to his other-worldly aura. If he cannot deliver the biggest prize at Man City, then it’s probably fair to anticipate another sabbatical.
Pep Guardiola is a world-class manager and a brilliant tactician, but he now finds himself in a concerning loop of Champions League semi-final shortcomings to Spanish squads.
And the only way out, at this point, looks as trying as breaking through Atlético Madrid’s back line for goal number three.