Ancelotti the ideal man to replace Guardiola – Ziege

Bayern Munich are set to swap one fantastic head coach for another by recruiting Carlo Ancelotti to replace Pep Guardiola, Christian Ziege believes.

Former Barcelona boss Guardiola will remain in charge of the Bundesliga champions until his contract expires at the end of the season, when he has revealed he is keen to take a job in the Premier League.

Ziege, who played for Bayern between 1990 and 1997, thinks his old club have made an excellent choice in ex-Real Madrid, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain head coach Carlo Ancelotti.

“I think [they] are fantastic coaches,” Ziege told Omnisport.

“Pep Guardiola showed at Bayern Munich in the last two-and-a-half years how fantastic he is as a coach. How the team improved and the way they played football is outstanding. 

“But at the same time Ancelotti proved a lot at different clubs how good he is as a coach. He can have success.

“I think the last thing he did was against Bayern Munich [in the semi-finals] when they [Madrid] won the Champions League for the 10th time. So one good coach is going and they have, already, a fantastic coach for the new season.”

Ziege feels the one remaining question mark over Guardiola’s coaching career is whether or not he will attempt to build a dynasty at one single club in the way Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United.

The 43-year-old continued: “Guardiola says he wants to have another experience in another league in another country so I think you can do what you want. 

“The question is if he wants to get like Alex Ferguson and stay in one club for years because he sees himself and the work he does after three years as a lot [of] work for the heads of the players.

“It takes a lot of patience to work with him. So this is the reason why maybe he doesn’t want to stay too long in one place.

“I don’t know which club he will train but everybody is saying it is Manchester City. If not, then it is Chelsea. Both clubs have enough money to buy the player he wants to.

“In the beginning it will be difficult again because adapting to the things he wants to see on the pitch is up to the players and it is not always easy. 

“When he started at Barcelona they trained from the youth to the professional team all in the same way, so it was easier. But if you go to a foreign country and to a different team, then obviously they have to adapt to the work he does.

“If you think about Manchester City, I think [former Barca sporting director] Txiki Begiristain is there so Spanish people are there and they know how Barcelona work and they know how Guardiola works. So for me, it is the club where he will go and is able to fit in because there are already Spanish guys who know him.

“From all I have seen over the years, the way he thinks about football and creates his own stuff, I think it is outstanding. He will manage well in the Premier League.”