Pep Guardiola enters the final four months of his three-year reign as Bayern Munich coach on Friday with the Spaniard under pressure to sign off with the treble.
Bayern kick-off the second-half of the season at Hamburg with an eight point lead in the table and if things continue Guardiola will end the Bundesliga season on May 14 with the Bavarians having become the first club to win the German league title four times in a row.
But his tenure will be judged by whether he repeats the 2013 treble of Champions League, German League and Bundesliga titles, achieved by his predecessor Jupp Heynckes.
For the last two seasons under Guardiola, Bayern has exited the Champions League at the semifinal stage and they are desperate to at least reach this year’s final in Milan on May 28, then win the title.
“Our goal is to play successful football. For us, that means having three titles at the end of the season. But we know that will be difficult,” said Bayern’s captain Philipp Lahm as they prepare to face Juventus in the last 16 of Europe next month.
Guardiola’s announcement last month that he is leaving at the end of the season, probably to coach in England, will make it that bit harder to win the Champions League title, according to former Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.
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