Pep Guardiola predicted a development for David Alaba and Joshua Kimmich that occurred under Hansi Flick. Will a third forecast also become reality?
Hansi Flick is not one of those who are annoyed when reminded of Pep Guardiola. On the contrary.
The Catalan, coach of FC Bayern Munich between 2013 and 2016, is “the best coach” for him, said Flick in February when asked: “I got to know and appreciate him here in Munich during my time at the DFB. He is an exceptional coach. The way he lets football play is an inspiration for many people.”
The current championship coach knows how much his club still benefits from Guardiola’s work today. And that he’s also given him one or two ideas to build on.
Guardiola saw Alaba’s potential as a centre-back
Five years ago, for example, Guardiola foresaw that David Alaba would be more than just a stopgap as a central defender.
“He can undoubtedly be one of the best central defenders in the world,” Guardiola told the kicker in September 2015.
Due to several injury cases in the defence (Holger Badstuber, Javi Martínez, Medhi Benatia) Guardiola had pulled the Austrian from the left to the inside for a long time at that time – where he had already proven himself. Guardiola was so taken with Alaba’s flexibility that he elevated him to “our god”, which was a huge compliment even by his standards.