Is Pep Guardiola the right man for Bayern Munich? Row with Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt has raised the question

The German champions must overturn a 3-1 deficit against Porto to advance in the Champions League

Pep Guardiola (GETTY IMAGES)

Is Pep Guardiola the right man for Bayern Munich? Philipp Lahm gave a straight answer to the straight question on Monday. A short yes, before being relieved of his media duties a few minutes later. Ever since Wednesday night's defeat to Porto, however, few have been able to answer the question as authoritatively as Lahm.

Porto may be looked back on as the key turning point of Pep Guardiola's reign as Bayern coach. Not only do the club now stand on the brink of a second consecutive failure to reach the Champions League Final, they also find themselves mired in a storm of internal politics. Claiming he had been blamed for the 3-1 defeat in Portugal, Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt stepped down as club doctor last week. It was the climax of what has always been a turbulent relationship between Müller-Wohlfahrt and Guardiola. The two have locked horns over a host of issues, from the treatment of Thiago Alcantara to Müller-Wohlfahrt's refusal to attend training sessions.

For Guardiola's detractors, the spat has been gold dust. Here is the diva, unable to concede any authority, even to man who has been at the club for nearly forty years, and who is celebrated as the stand alone leader in the world of sport medicine. Here, more importantly, is the club who will concede everything to the diva. Even to the point where, rather than blame the coach for a 3-1 defeat, chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge chose to lambast the medical department.

The knives, though, are out for the coach alone. A recent poll in a Munich tabloid showed that over half of Bayern fans now believe Guardiola has overstepped the mark, and is unsuited to being Bayern manager. The doctor, affectionately nicknamed “Mull”, is for many a mere victim of Catalan arrogance.

It is easy to forget, in the midst of such a narrative, that Müller-Wohlfahrt is hardly an uncontroversial figure himself. Despite having treated everyone in sport from Usain Bolt to Darren Gough, the man's methods have come under constant questioning – the use of homeopathy and actovegin injections being particular bones of contention. Gough himself recalls going for treatment with Müller-Wohlfahrt during Euro 2004, and being shocked to see “the entire Germany squad” hooked up to drips.

The doctor, meanwhile, does have a history of poor relations with charismatic coaches. He has distanced himself from Bayern before, during the reign of Jürgen Klinsmann. Guardiola's critics will point to the fact that Klinsmann's reign was a disaster because, like Guardiola, the manager became the star. But the fact remains that Müller-Wohlfahrt's ego doesn't respond well to the egos of others. And with an injury list so long that Bayern have been reduced to a mere three outfield substitutes in recent weeks, is it really so insolent of Guardiola to question the wisdom of his medical department?

Guardiola would perhaps be cut more slack were it not for shortcomings on the pitch. The nature of the club dictates that success on all fronts is expected every season. Guardiola knows as much, admitting on Monday that “it is not enough, at a club like this, only to win the league and the cup”. If his team loses to Porto on Tuesday evening, the league and cup will once again be all that is left for Guardiola.

Porto won the first-leg 3-1 (Getty Images)

More to the point, if his team goes out on Tuesday, it will be Guardiola's fault. His system of dominating possession high up the pitch has a tendency to capitulate when Bayern are hit on the counter attack, and it leaves them mightily exposed when they commit the slightest defensive error. Real Madrid exploited that last season. Manchester City, Wolfsburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach and most recently Porto have done so this season.

So is Pep Guardiola the right man for Bayern Munich? In terms of domestic success, yes. His team won the title in record time last year. He is on the verge of two consecutive doubles. Perhaps most significantly of all, they play scintillating football when they want to. He has, nonetheless, failed to address certain fundamental tactical problems this year. For that, he bears full responsibility.

As for the rift with Müller-Wohlfahrt, it is fair to say Guardiola is getting a rough ride. His brilliance and, yes, his certain brand of arrogance, mean that he carries more expectation. It is no surprise that anger at his failure to fulfil that expectation has been displaced, and he is now being vilified over an internal quarrel with a different kind of arrogant genius. But that's how it is. The bigger they come, the harder they fall.