5 titles and counting for Guardiola at Bayern Munich

Posted December 20, 2015 6:00 am

The Associated Press

MUNICH (AP) - Pep Guardiola still has the chance to end his stay in Bayern Munich with the title he was brought in for: the Champions League.

In his first two seasons in charge of the German soccer powerhouse, Bayern dominated the Bundesliga but fell short in the Champions League with painful losses to Spanish sides.

Guardiola inherited from Jupp Heynckes a team that had won an unprecedented treble for the club - the Champions League, the Bundesliga and the German Cup. Guardiola himself had won 14 titles with Barcelona before taking a one-year sabbatical.

Halfway through his final season in Bayern, Guardiola is still on course for the elusive treble. Bayern is leading the Bundesliga, it has reached the quarterfinals of the German Cup and is in the knockout stage of the Champions League, with Juventus looming as the next rival. Guardioloa has won 105 of 135 matches in charge.

It remains to be seen how the players will react to a lame-duck coach, despite Guardiola's record and reputation. But Bayern won the treble under Heynckes a long time after it was known that he would be replaced by Guardiola.

Here is a look at Guardiola's record at Bayern:

2013-14 season - As reigning Champions League titlist, Bayern won the Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup early in Guardiola's reign. Bayern finished the season with the Bundesliga and German Cup titles. But Guardiola's team was torn apart by Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid 4-0 in Munich to go out 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinals of the Champions League.

2014-15 season - This turns out even worse for Bayern, which is limited to one title, in the Bundesliga. It loses in the German Cup semifinal to Wolfsburg. In the Champions League, the end comes again in the semifinals - Barcelona wins 3-0 at home and Bayern is eliminated by Guardiola's former team despite a 3-2 win in Germany.

2015-16 season - So far, so good. Bayern is comfortably ahead in the Bundesliga, it is in the quarterfinals of the German Cup and in the Round of 16 in the Champions League.

FILE - In this May 10, 2014 file picture Bayern head coach Pep Guardiola was showered with beer after winning the German Soccer Championship after the season's last home game between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart, in Munich, southern Germany. Bayern Munich says Sunday Dec. 20, 2015 coach Pep Guardiola will leave the club at the end of the season and will be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti. Ancelotti, winner of three Champions League titles, signed a three-year deal. Despite the clubâs willingness for him to stay on, Guardiola decided to leave after three seasons in charge. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader,file) The Associated Press

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