Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola is set to be absent from the Bavarians' pre-match press conference ahead of their DFB-Pokal first round match against FC Nöttingen.
The begrudged Guardiola is set to give the “presser” a miss and sporting director Matthias Sammer will answer questions on his behalf.
The press conference is set to take place ahead of Bayern’s DFB-Pokal opener, which kicks off Sunday at 16:00 at Karlsruhe Wildparkstadion, the home of the fifth division side FC Nöttingen.
Guardiola could be absent for various reasons
Reports in Germany say that the Spanish manager is going to be absent following many recent reports that imply that the 44-year old will replace Manuel Pellegrini as Manchester City manager at the end of next season and that they have had a “verbal agreement” over the matter.
Also, the former-Barcelona manager has been in trouble this week after there were reports that he and Nigel de Jong came to blows in the tunnel after Bayern Munich beat AC Milan 3-0 in the Audi Cup. There have been rumours that he will be missing from the conference because of the speculation regarding Mario Götze, who has been linked with Juventus for the past few weeks.
Could Nöttingen spring an unlikely surprise?
FC Nöttingen are set to have their third Bundesliga team at the Wildparkstadion in just three years, as Bayern Munich follow Hannover 96 (2012/13) and Schalke 04 (2013/14). Hannover eased past in the first round 1-6 but Schalke didn’t find it that easy, beating them 2-0 in the end.
Bayern Munich are currently the record holders of the DFB-Pokal, winning it seventeen times. That has been the name of the trophy since 1935, the first team to win it were 1. FC Nürnberg. A total of sixty-four teams take part in the competition that starts from August and ends in late May.
Although Pep wont be at the press conference, he will be on the sidelines hoping to get off to a good start against tricky lower-league opposition and push toward their eighteenth cup triumph.