The former Barcelona coach had a couple of surprises during his first
season as Bayern Munich coach. The first one were the utilization of Philipp Lahm. Pep Guardiola’s switch of Philipp
Lahm from full-back to midfielder raised some eyebrows but this decision
now appears logic. The double pivot of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi
Martinez was a key to Bayern’s success last season but Guardiola went far from
it utilizing just one
holding player. The result was the switch from Jupp Henyinckes’ 4-2-3-1 to a
more offensive 4-1-4-1 with a central midfielder sitting between two banks of
four. Guardiola
has called Lahm "the most intelligent player I’ve ever coached" and
his movements remembered the job Sergio Busquets has done for Guardiola at Barcelona.
The Uefa's Champions League magazine some months ago descrive Lahm as "a
modern libero". It works as Guardiola relocated him into the centre of
midfield more than as a simple holder: he acted like a ball carrier able to
contribute on team’s flow of play. The use of Lahm as a holding midfielder allows
Guardiola to utilize Schweinsteiger, Thiago Alcântara and Toni Kroos in
more attacking roles, growing up their influence on Bayern’s offense. In the
new position, Lahm quickly became a Pep Guardiola’s key player. It was far from
a definitive move as Lahm was lined up at full-back against City. By the way, in
lining him as a holding midfielder, Guardiola
found his man. Lahm is the passer around which to
build a lot of offensive line of passes.
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