Guardiola snubs MLS coach as Bayern clash ends in acrimony

Pep Guardiola was left fuming after Bayern Munich's efforts to charm America went awry as the German champions lost a bad-tempered game against an MLS All-Star team in Portland.

The Spanish coach, incensed by some of the MLS side's tackles, refused to shake the hand of his opposite number, Caleb Porter, and confronted referee Jai Marufo at the final whistle. Afterwards he appeared to take issue with the Americans' approach and warned that if there was a next time his side would come prepared.

"We tried to respect the rules of the game," said Guardiola. "We tried to play, and we were not prepared for the situation. I expect MLS to invite us back for revenge, and we will prepare much better."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Guardiola gave Porter "a one-fingered wave-off" after the game, says the Daily Telegraph, while US website Soccer by Ives described his finger wagging as an "insulting gesture", although it claims that the two managers did later shake hands.

And while Guardiola was "visibly peeved" by some of the tackling, his attitude did not impress some MLS fans. Readers of SBI accused him of lacking class and said Bayern would not be welcomed back to America.

"Despite Guardiola's comments, you can probably safely assume there will be no rematch with the Bundesliga giants," says Bleacher Report. It notes that the "unfortunate" ending, which came after a particularly tough challenge on Bastian Schweinsteiger, overshadowed a "thrilling" game in which Robert Lewandowski's opening goal was cancelled out by strikes from Bradley Wright-Phillips and Landon Donovan.

It was a sour note on which to end Bayern's North American tour. Most of Europe's elite teams, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United and Real Madrid among them, have visited the US this summer hoping to capitalise on football's sudden popularity in the wake of a World Cup that caught the imagination of the American sports fan. Most have succeeded, but Bayern may not be so fortunate.

The usually suave Guardiola, who spent a year living in New York after leaving Barcelona, appears on paper to be the ideal ambassador for the sport in the US, but he may have blotted his copybook on this occasion.