News analysis: Has Guardiola power for third try?

Is this the end of all dreams for Pep Guardiola and the 2015 German champions Bayern Munich to win this season' s Champions League? And: What does the 3-0 defeat in the first leg of the 2014/2015 semifinal against FC Barcelona means as regards the future of the 44-year old Spaniard?

It' s almost game over after the first duel which is what Bayern feared the most. The chances of turning the tie around are virtually zero as Bayern seems to be without answers when going forward, especially seeing as they are missing Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

For Pep Guardiola it was a special defeat, one that hurts even more than the one he had to go through in last season' s semifinal against Real Madrid (0-5 on aggregate). In the game against Real, Guardiola was at fault for choosing the wrong tactics.

This time, against Barcelona, Guardiola had to accept the fact that his team is not good enough to beat the best. What has to be decided in the next weeks for Guardiola and Bayern Munich is, how strong is the will of both to try a third time next season after Guardiola has twice failed to win what he himself describes as the only possible goal for him? Now he was beaten by the Barcelona he had created in many years as Barca' s coach until 2012.

If Guardiola and Bayern decide to try a third time, two things will be vital: Guardiola has to extend his contract that runs until 2016 and Bayern will have to invest many millions to renew their team and change their squad, with Mario Goetze a candidate for a transfer.

This year Barcelona is a team that seems not only too strong for Bayern but also for probably their main rivals Real Madrid (1-2 in first leg against Juventus Turin) in the final. Guardiola will have to answer the question for himself if it is possible to update his Bayern squad to have a realistic chance in the future.

"A football wonder is now needed" , Bayern striker Thomas Mueller said who was upset after being substituted 79 minutes before the final whistle.

Franz Beckenbauer was not happy either and criticized Guardiola: "I did not understand the substitution of Mueller, he was one of the best."

For long, things went well for Bayern, until they lost control in the last 15 minutes after a long rearguard battle. Call it a special idea of Guardiola or not: Bernat, basically a left back, in the first 15 minutes played more offensively in midfield, sometimes as far forward as the edge of Barcelona' s penalty area. And Bayern' s defense, as far as the back line was concerned, initially played with a chain of three (Boateng, Benatia and Rafinha).

Starting furiously, Barcelona managed to create several chances before Guardiola changed back to a four-man back line as his team did not fully manage to stop Barcelona' s passes in midfield.

Rafinha did a good job against Neymar, but Bastian Schweinsteiger and Alonso had difficulties in man-on-man situations.

Bayern' s key figure against a breathtaking Barcelona side was German national keeper Manuel Neuer, until Messi popped up with a brace.

The "2015 goalkeeper of the year" was often the last man standing against Barcelona' s impressive strike force. Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have scored 111 of Barcelona' s 162 goals this season.

The chance to go 1-0 up through Robert Lewandowski in the 18th minute made it obvious how important it was for Bayern to have the Polish striker on the pitch despite the broken jaw the 26-year old suffered in the semifinal match in the German Cup against Borussia Dortmund.

In Barcelona, Lewandowski played with a specially designed protective carbon-fiber mask. He managed to shield the ball on many occasions to give his team mates time to move forward and leave their defensive duties.

Bayern had, without Robben and Ribery, far fewer options in possible 1-on-1 situations when attacking. Far too often it was only Lewandowski and Thomas Muller up front which leads to the question: How can Bayern manage to have more options in the second leg next week as Bayern now have to score four goals.

It was not a night to be happy about for Bayern and a day that started with bad news in the morning. Before kick-off at Camp Nou, Bayern' s hopes that Franck Ribery would make a quick return were dashed. The French striker will be side-lined for at least another two weeks meaning the 32-year old will definitely miss the second leg against Barcelona next Tuesday.

Due to an ankle injury Ribery has to wear an orthopedic shoe to take pressure off his injured right foot.

"I' m very frustrated, yes, I' m very very annoyed. In my head I was ready for something great, now I have to be patient again which is more than hard," said Ribery.

Only if Ribery' s recovery goes as planned, can the dribbling genius hope for to return to action this season. Meaning: Only when Bayern does after all manage to get to the Champions League final in the German capital' s Olympic stadium on June 6 can fans get to see Ribery once more in the 2014/2015 season. Endi