Qatar 'want Pep Guardiola for 2022 World Cup'

Qatar want Bayern Munich head coach Pep Guardiola to lead the country at the 2022 World Cup, according to reports in Germany.

Guardiola’s face adorns the front of Sport Bild on Wednesday morning, with the paper claiming that he could be the subject of a lucrative approach from the Gulf nation.

Guardiola, who won 14 major honors in just four seasons as Barcelona boss, spent a spell in Qatar towards the end of his playing career, representing al-Ahli in the Qatar Stars League between 2003 and 2005.

He was also an ambassador for the country’s controversial bid for the 2022 World Cup and only recently endorsed the 2022 tournament as he took Bayern to Qatar for a warm-weather training camp.

“The people in Qatar have to help the country to make the event the best that is possible,” he said. “The world will be watching and I hope the people here can help out to show the world that they are capable of hosting the biggest event in football.

“FIFA has always tried to look for new areas to promote the sport. They went to South Africa in 2010 and in 2022 they have decided to come here. It’s a good step to come to this part of the world. It will help the rest of the world to know this part. Football at the end is a great opportunity to meet different cultures.”

Guardiola won the domestic double in his first season at Bayern and the Bavarian giants top the Bundesliga table at present as well as remaining in contention in the Champions League and German Cup.

However, his future is often subject to debate, with his current deal running until 2016 and reports in January suggesting that Guardiola could even walk away from Bayern at the end of the current season.

It has long been thought that Guardiola’s next port of call will be the Premier League, having spoken openly of his admiration for clubs like Manchester United.

But Qatar have huge financial resources at their disposal and are keen to vastly improve the standard of the national team’s play ahead of the tournament they will host in 2022.

Qatar are currently 92nd in the FIFA rankings.

OUR VIEW

This seems outrageously unlikely at first glance, but closer inspection suggests it's not impossible. In theory, Guardiola could coach Bayern until the end of his contract next season, manage a Premier League club for three years after that and then take charge of Qatar in 2019 with enough time to get them competitive ahead of the World Cup. It's possible, if not entirely likely.

Guardiola has only ever worked with elite athletes, footballers who would walk into most other teams on earth, so how would he cope presented with a bunch of no-hopers? Still, he has said he wants to manager an international team and with strong Catalan sympathies meaning a spell as Spain boss is far from certain, this could be an option for the future given his already strong links with Qatar.

By Eurosport.com