Munich, May 24 (IANS): It was an emotional finish for the 52nd Bundesliga season as manager Pep Guardiola tried to sneak off the pitch at the Allianz Arena here.
But the 44-year-old was caught by Jerome Boateng after Bayern received the championship shield for their 25th Bundesliga title on Saturday, reports Xinhua.
The defender duly continued a long and dearly held tradition. Guardiola was drenched with beer in front of a sell-out crowd after the last league match against FSV Mainz (2-0) as his team finished with an impressive goal record of 80-18.
These were the happiest moments for Guardiola after he missed out on fulfilling the club's dream of winning the Champions League. Many pundits assumed the Spaniard might put an end to his German adventure as the coach seemed deeply disappointed after being knocked out of the Champions League semifinal for the second consecutive year.
Guardiola is expected to extend his contract by a or two. Rumours suggest that Guardiola's ambition is to make a renewed attempt at winning the Champions League despite his dream of taking over at a top English Premier League club.
Apparently, Bayern is willing to invest up to 100 million euros in new players.
Besides Guardiola, the future of Juergen Klopp is also a hot topic as the 47-year-old will leave Borussia Dortmund after seven years with two German titles (2011, 2012), a German Cup win (2012) and a Champions League final (2013, 1-2 loss to Bayern Munich).
Like Guardiola, Klopp this season lost some of his victorious aura as his team saw itself at the bottom of the league before managing a turnaround by reaching the German Cup final and qualifying for the Europa League. But Guardiola and Klopp are still regarded as top class coaches.
Klopp is expected to join an English club but Real Madrid fans recently chose his as their favourite to succeed Carlo Ancelotti. AC Milan is also apparently interested in Klopp. Before leaving, Klopp and Dortmund still have the German Cup final against VfL Wolfsburg in Berlin on May 30.
Besides Klopp and Guardiola, the futures of Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and striker Thomas Mueller seem to be uncertain as both are on the list of Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal. But like Guardiola, Schweinsteiger and Mueller are likely stay with Bayern.