Rafinha spoke in an interview about the difficult relationship with Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac. The Brazilian, who switched to Flamengo in the summer without a replacement, did not feel treated fairly by the FCB coach.
“I wish Niko Kovac all the best, he’s a young coach. But it just didn’t work between him and me,” said Rafinha in SportBild. The Brazilian had little time to play: “There was a period when I had more games. After that, the coach just didn’t bet on me anymore, I couldn’t understand that.”
Especially since Rafinha had sought a conversation with Kovac before the season and asked him for an honest assessment of his chances. Kovac assured him of an important role: “But it came differently – at least I had understood him differently.” Rafinha had already complained publicly about the coach in February.
Rafinha experienced a “low blow” and a “negative climax” during his last compulsory match in the Allianz Arena against Eintracht Frankfurt. Leon Goretzka was injured, but Kovac did not decide to pull Joshua Kimmich into midfield and bring in Rafinha, but substituted Renato Sanches.
“Kovac knew what this mission would have meant to me. I was very, very sad. In the last two games, I had also scored against Frankfurt, he should have just brought me home. I played ten finals for Bayern, I can handle pressure. The coach took away my farewell game.”
Rafinha was “finished, totally sad”: “I would have loved to play in front of our fans again. He could have trusted me with his eyes closed, but he didn’t.”
Overall, the 33-year-old did not see a good relationship between coach and team last season: “There was a lot of stress this year, many players were unhappy. There have been times this season when we’ve all had problems – not just the players who are angry because they’re on the bench.”
Rafinha remarked that “something was missing between coach and team”, he had never experienced a comparable situation at FC Bayern before. The adjustment of the rotation was also a reason for this. Rafinha’s conclusion: “I hope Niko is doing well, learning and improving.”
