FC Bayern Munich has separated from head coach Niko Kovac. The record champion thus reacted to the latest sporting development. The former assistant Hansi Flick will take over the team for the time being.
Until Sunday afternoon there were no signs of a quick change of coach at FC Bayern, but it was a normal morning at Säbener Straße. In the evening, however, this looked quite different. After an analysis of the current situation, the record champion, who is currently four points behind the table leader Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga, was determined to leave coach Kovac prematurely.
The performance of our team in the past weeks and the results have shown us that there was a need for action.
President Uli Hoeneß, CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Hasan Salihamidzic as sports director had agreed on this with Niko Kovac “by mutual agreement” on Sunday, as FC Bayern announced in the evening and later added: Kovac had offered the club his resignation as coach. The contract of the Croatian in Munich was originally valid until 30 June 2021.
“The achievements of our team in recent weeks and the results have shown us that there was a need for action,” Rummenigge explained in the press release. After an “open and serious discussion” with Kovac, they agreed on the separation.
THE BAVARIAN TRAINERS OF THE LAST TEN YEARS
Flick takes over – until winter?
In the coming days, Hansi Flick, who joined the FCB as assistant coach at Kovac’s request during the summer, will prepare the FC Bayern team for the upcoming matches: On Wednesday, the FCB will face Olympiakos Piraeus in the Champions League, and on Saturday the prestigious duel with Borussia Dortmund will take place.
From 1985 to 1990 Flick played 104 times in the Bundesliga for FC Bayern, and from 2006 to the 2014 World Cup title he worked as co-coach alongside national coach Joachim Löw. The 54-year-old now tends to coach FC Bayern’s team until the winter break. In hot rumours around Säbener Straße, well-known names are being traded for a longer-term solution: Xabi Alonso, who played for the FCB from 2014 to 2017 and now coaches Real Sociedad San Sebastian’s second team, Thomas Tuchel, with France’s leaders Paris Saint-Germain until 2021, and Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid coach again since March.
Kovac’s team lacked balance
Kovac had taken over the coaching position at FC Bayern in July 2018 and led the Munich team to a double win in its premiere season. In his second season, however, his team lacked balance, especially in the defensive, the Munich proved to be vulnerable. Despite a 7-2 win in the Champions League at Tottenham Hotspur, criticism of Kovac grew, especially after his narrow progress in the cup at VfL Bochum (2-1), which was followed a few days later by a 5-1 scuffle at his ex-club Eintracht Frankfurt. Shortly thereafter, the former Croatian national coach had shown himself to be fighting, but one day later the cut was made.
“I think that this is the right decision for the club at the moment,” Kovac is quoted in the club’s statement: “The results and the way we played last made me come to this conclusion.
This marks the end of the second Bundesliga station as coach for the former Bundesliga professional. Previously, he was in office at Eintracht Frankfurt from March 2016 to June 2018, first leading the SBU via the relegation to class retention and later to the DFB Cup victory.
