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Hitzfeld defends Guardiola from backlash

Not all criticism has been all that bad for Pep Guardiola during his farewell with Bayern Munich. This Saturday he managed to lift his third consecutive Bundesliga trophy and he has a good chance of winning his second Pokal with the club as long as he defeats Borussia Dortmund in the final. After he wasn't able to take Bayern to a new Champions League final since his predecessor Jupp Heynckes won the treble before Pep arrived, the criticism started coming from all over the place against him. 

While most of the fans and the press roughly lashed out at him for playing a 'boring' style of football, there were a few Germans who actually believe Pep Guardiola did a good job with the club. One of these people is none other than former Bayern manager himself, Ottmar Hitzfeld. The German is convinced that Pep did a great job and that winning the Champions League is actually not as easy as it sounds. 

In a world where winning the treble has become a trend in all over Europe, Hitzfeld thinks people are being overly rough against the Catalan manager. He confirmed to Bild that Pep did a good job and deeming his three years there as a failure is actually going too far: "There is only one answer to this question: No, he hasn't. Guardiola isn't treated fairly. He improved Bayern and the whole Bundesliga. Everyone who does not recognize it is sensational that Guardiola led Bayern to three Champions League semi-finals in a row is clueless. Normally a team who won the treble [as Bayern did in 2013] falls into a hole. They are not that hungry anymore, you ease up.

"But Guardiola protected Bayern from that case and made the players greedy. He instilled Bayern with a passing quality like never before. He made them play high-speed football. I think Guardiola will only get the appreciation he deserves in Germany in a few months. Often you only realize how good someone was when he is already gone. I also don't agree with the critics who claim Guardiola did not identify himself enough with Bayern. If you saw him on the sidelines you know how much passion he gave for this club."

Photo credit: Bayern Munich

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