Guardiola's Bayern Munich to battle Barcelona in Preseason

The 42-year-old coach takes over at the Bavarians on July 1 and, on July 24, he will face his former club at the Allianz Arena in the Uli Hoeness Cup.
Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich will play Barcelona in a pre-season match, it has been confirmed.

The coach, who enjoyed four silverware-laden years at Camp Nou before embarking on a 12-month footballing sabbatical, takes over from Jupp Heynckes at the Bavarian club on July 1.

And it has now been revealed that one of his first games will be against the Blaugrana at the Allianz Arena on July 24.

This means that just over three weeks into his reign he will be reunited with the likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Carles Puyol, though he will now be tasked with taming the talents he once nurtured.

The teams will do battle in the Uli Hoeness Trophy - named after the current Bayern president, with all proceeds from ticket sales going to charity - having arranged to play each other during this week’s European Clubs Assembly in Doha, Qatar.

The last time the two sides came up against one another was in a 2011 pre-season clash, when Guardiola was in charge of Barca and Thiago scored both goals in a 2-0 win.