The board did its job. The new men, play makers in different areas of the field, have been slowly integrated, in part because each has been injured.

But the full conversion to Guardiola’s style — the intensity with which he wants the ball hunted down, the ball-retention and circulation, and the attack with a so-called “false No. 9” — will all come to bear in the second half of the campaign.

“Gladbach will make life hard for us,” Thomas Müller, a candidate for that false No. 9 role, told reporters on Wednesday. “We have to shake off the holiday mood.

“So much comes down to mental strength because your body can actually do more than you think. What matters is snapping into gear over and over again. It’s the most decisive factor, you have to rebuild your motivation from scratch time. It’s not always easy especially with all the praise we’ve had.”

Also not easy is the adaptation to Guardiola’s demands, his style, his “obsession.” Müller himself has been the one to attempt the false No. 9 role, essentially a midfield player who makes late and difficult-to-track runs into the penalty box.

He, and others, have to make room for the new players, and sit when the coach orders them to. “You can only start with 11 players, in the Bundesliga or in the Champions League,” Müller said. “If you don’t start every match, it can hurt. I hope everyone accepts the decisions of the boss because it will show whether we’re really a team.” The Heynckes era, which culminated in victory on every front last year, is finally over. The Guardiola effect is about to be truly felt.