Ambitious Bayern hand the reins to Guardiola

Bayern Munich have underlined the scope of their ambition by announcing the appointment of spectacularly successful former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola to replace Jupp Heynckes from the end of this season.

Spaniard Guardiola, 41, will take over from Heynckes, who has decided not to extend his contract, in July and has agreed a deal until the end of June 2016.

"We are very pleased that we have managed to convince the football expert Pep Guardiola, who was coveted and contacted by many top clubs, to come to Bayern Munich," Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.

He said Heynckes had decided to retire at the end of the season and Bayern were replacing him with the best coach on the market.

"Pep Guardiola is one of the world's most successful coaches and we are sure that he can bring a great deal of sparkle not only to Bayern Munich but to German football in general," he added.

It is a significant coup for the German club, runners-up in Europe's elite club competition last season, given that big-spending rivals, including Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris St Germain, were reportedly also hoping to hire Guardiola.

Under his guidance, his first top-flight coaching job, Barca won plaudits for their entertaining, attacking brand of football based on domination of possession and swift one-touch passing.

Many credit Johan Cruyff, another former Barca player and coach, with creating the club's distinctive style and Guardiola played under the Dutchman in the 1990s when they won their first European Cup.

The ex-Spain international also won praise for getting the best out of quadruple World Player of the Year Lionel Messi, to whom he gave more liberty to roam the pitch than his predecessor as coach Frank Rijkaard.

Whether Guardiola's philosophy and tactics will suit Bayern and the Bundesliga remains to be seen.

There is also a question mark over whether he can manage a group of players the majority of whom, unlike at Barca, did not come through the club's academy.

One player at the German club he knows well is Spain midfielder Javi Martinez, who joined in the close season for a Bundesliga record of 40 million euros (33 million pounds).

Guardiola may be hoping to lure some of his former charges to Germany to join Martinez and his imminent return to coaching has already prompted Barca president Sandro Rosell to warn him off.

But even if he does not attract former players, he can rely on cash-rich Bayern to dig deep in their pockets to assemble a Champions League-winning team according to his vision.

Bayern are top of the Bundesliga with a nine-point lead after 17 matches. The league resumes this week after a month-long winter break and they meet Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League when the competition resumes next month.