Defender Niklas Süle of FC Bayern Munich has spoken positively about coach Niko Kovac and teammate Jerome Boateng.
“We had good moments and got off to a great start into the season. Then there was a dent,” Süle said in an interview with Sport1 with regard to his coach and added: “During the winter break we all looked at each other and said: ‘What do we do now? We’ll have to turn that around.’ Then we got out of the situation with him. We got the double with him despite difficult phases. That speaks for itself. Even in a season where a lot has been written about the fact that we probably won’t win a title at all. So it goes without saying that I give the coach backing.”
In spite of the successful second half of the season, the Bavarians were still lacking 100% support for Kovac until the end. Only after the sealed double President Uli Hoeneß and CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge guaranteed the Croatian a continued employment.
Süle is pleased that there is finally clarity about Kovac’s future. “In football, action should be the deciding factor. When I score 40 goals in a season as a striker, the Bavarians don’t say: ‘Let’s throw him out,'” the central defender explained.
Boateng, who was last advised by Hoeneß to leave the club, was also praised by Süle: “He is a bomb type. He also knows that I am and was a huge fan of him.”
Süle can understand why Boateng was so unhappy about his role as a reservist in the end, and why he didn’t necessarily stand out as a mood gun during the double celebrations. “He’s clearly unhappy with her. Such a player has the right to play. Jerome is still a top defender, so I can understand his reaction. He hasn’t been used to sitting on the bench for two or three games in a row in recent years. It’s a difficult situation for him. How he deals with it now, he must clarify with the club. Personally, I don’t know what he wants to do,” said Süle.
