the Catalan's ability but thinks a squad renewal
can make up for their shortcomings
Former Bayern Munich midfielder Dietmar Hamann
believes that the only way for his old club to
replicate Barcelona 's treble success is for Pep
Guardiola to spend heavily on new signings.
Barca swept to the Primera Liga, Copa del Rey an
Bayern out of Europe along the way
and impressing current pundit Hamann, who
attributed the Catalans' success to the money they
spent last summer.
"With Neymar, [Luis] Suarez and [Ivan] Rakitic,
Barcelona strengthened optimally," the ex-German
international told TZ on Sunday. "The problem at
Bayern is that old age is creeping up on critical
players such as [Franck] Ribery and [Arjen]
Robben.
"[Bastien] Schweinsteiger and [Xabi] Alonso are no
getting any younger either. Much of the team is
not that old, but the greatest need remains in
Bayern's wide positions, where only a handful of
the world's top players, like [Chelsea's Eden]
Hazard, Neymar and Messi play.
"I agree with [Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz] Rummenigg
that changing the whole troupe now does not mak
sense, but it may be too late if they wait six or 12
months to address the issue [of the veterans]."
But while Hamann insists Bayern's board
must back their coach fully in the transfer market
they are to see results on the continent, the 41-
year-old remains unconvinced by Guardiola's
record in charge of the Bavarians.
"I still believe that Pep needs to prove himself. Th
bar remains the Champions League," he
continued. "And they lost 4-0 to Real Madrid ther
last year and 5-3 to Barca this year, with a squad
which is probably just as expensive.
"Guardiola demands enormous amounts of himself
and therefore gets worn down quickly. I don't thin
he can work for a club for more than three or four
years, so I don't think there'll be a long Guardiola
era at Bayern."
The Catalan coach took over at Allianz Arena in
2014 after Bayern had won the treble themselves,
but the team have since failed to progress beyond
the semi-finals of the Champions League in
successive seasons under him.
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