Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
Right after a successful showing and display as a member of the Spain championship winning side at the UEFA U-21 Tournament in June, former Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara became a player in high demand for many clubs seeking an attacking midfielder.
The team that appeared to be the one to sign and acquire Thiago Alcantara was Manchester United. It appeared it was only a matter of time before David Moyes would land his first significant signing as Manchester United manager.
But then Bayern Munich came into the fold and began to seek the services of Alcantara, with Pep Guardiola engaged in personal conversation with the player.
Earlier today, Sky Sports Italia made it known that Alcantara had chosen to sign with the reigning Champions League title holders with a quote from Guardiola stating that Alcantara was the only player he wanted to bring in this summer.
While Thiago Alcantara would have more than likely flourished and taken his career to the next level with Manchester United, by him choosing to go sign with Bayern Munich shows that he decided to continue his development as a player in a stable, more familiar environment and structure. At Bayern Munich, Thiago Alcantara will be reunited with a coach and coaching staff that got his career at Barcelona started and put him into a position to shine and flourish as a player. With Guardiola, Thiago Alcantara will not have an adjustment period on the field of play as he will know what Guardiola wants from him and expects from him in any given position he plays in the midfield.
At Manchester United, Alcantara would have been going into a situation where he would have to adjust to a coach who himself is trying to establish a new playing system in a team that was coached by a legend. Therefore, Thiago Alcantara would have had to deal with a cultural adjustment and tactical adjustment before he could be expected to flourish for the team.
As the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund showed, the level of technical skill and play in the Bundesliga is of world class quality. While the Premier League is considered to be the most entertaining of all soccer leagues, it is still a league that is based more on relentless tempo as opposed to technical skill.
Because of this difference, Thiago Alcantara will be playing in a league that will allow him to be able to use his technical skills to succeed and take the next level as a player. This fact should not be overlooked or discounted as recent Champions League “disappointments” by English clubs have been in large part due to be a step below Spanish and German clubs in technical display.
Lucas Carreras is a contributing Soccer writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow Lucas on Twitter by following him @maldini3fan and you can add him to your circle on Google+.
