All eyes will be on Robert Lewandowski as his past and present clash in the Champions League on Wednesday night. The ex-Bayern Munich striker came up short against his old side when his Barcelona team lost 2-0 to the German champions in September. With the Blaugrana’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage hanging by a thread, the Austria international will need to be at his best.
Lewandowski is far from the only player to turn out in the colours of these two European heavyweights. Several managers have also served at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Here are just some of the icons to have represented these two legendary clubs.
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Mark Hughes
‘Sparky’ joined Barcelona from Manchester United in 1986. The Welsh wizard never quite caught on in Catalonia and was loaned to Bayern Munich. His spell in the Bundesliga was far more fruitful, yielding seven goals in 23 games. Hughes famously played two competitive games in one day while at Bayern. First, he turned out in Wales’ European Championship qualifier with Czechoslovakia. Then Hughes was whisked by private jet to his club’s German Cup second round replay with Borussia Monchengladbach, where he came on as a substitute.
Pep Guardiola
Already a legend at Camp Nou for what he did on the field, nobody could have envisioned just how incredible Guardiola would be as Barcelona manager when he took over in 2008. Three league titles, two Champions Leagues and the imperial era of “tiki-taka” followed before Guardiola left complaining of burnout in 2012.
Guardiola embarked on a year-long stay in New York in order to recharge his batteries. While in ‘The Big Apple’, the Spaniard was approached by Bayern to replace the legendary Jupp Heynckes as their head coach. While he could not match his predecessor’s success in Europe, he did win a trio of Bundesliga titles, a pair of German Cups and a Club World Cup at the Allianz Arena.
Pepe Reina
The Spanish shot-stopper has served at a laundry list of elite clubs. Reina’s varied career has taken in spells at Liverpool, AC Milan, Lazio, Villarreal, and Napoli. Two of the biggest clubs on his CV are our subjects, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Reina emerged from the youth team at Camp Nou, going on to make 30 La Liga appearances for the club. But he would have to leave for Villarreal to become a true first-choice number one. By the time he arrived in the Bundesliga over a decade later, it was in a back-up capacity. Reina made just three appearances for Bayern before moving on to become a number one again, this time at Napoli.
Louis van Gaal
The revolutionary Dutch coach actually had two spells at Barcelona. The first was his most successful, in which he clinched two La Liga titles, the Uefa Cup and the Copa Del Rey. Personality clashes with the players and the upper management ended that term, but his bridge was not too burned to prevent a return. Van Gaal’s second stint in 2002 lasted just six months, throwing flames on what remained of said bridge.
The Netherlands coach’s first season with Bayern, the 2009-10 campaign, was a roaring success. Van Gaal’s side won a league and cup double while also getting to the Champions League final. It all imploded the following year, with the Dutchman sacked as his side lay in third place in April.
Philippe Coutinho
Like Mark Hughes before him, Coutinho found solace in Munich after a troubled spell with Barcelona. The current Aston Villa midfielder was viewed as an expensive mistake at Camp Nou when he was loaned to the Bundesliga club in 2019.
Coutinho thrived at the Allianz Arena, reminding the footballing world of the skills that saw Barcelona part with £105 million to secure his services. To add insult to injury, there was no parent club clause in the loan deal. This meant Coutinho was on the pitch to score two goals against Barcelona in their infamous 8-2 humbling at the hands of Bayern in the Champions League.
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