Bayern Munich was forced to sack his coach, Niko Kovac, because the performance of the “Die Roten” team deteriorated on Sunday (3/11/2019). Kovac’s style of play known as “Kovanaccio” is no longer riveting, even Kovac is also hostile to his players.
The decision to fire Kovac increasingly unanimous after Bayern was being defeated by Eintracht Frankfurt, 1-5, Saturday (02/11/2019). With that result, the reigning champions of the German League must now be content to be ranked fourth in the standings. “Seeing the appearance and results obtained by our team in recent weeks, we feel we must act,” said Bayern Munich director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Together with Bayern President Uli Hoeness and Bayern Sports Director Hasan Salihamidzic, Kovac was invited to speak. Kovac who last season managed to present the German League trophy and the German Cup can understand.
Kovac’s career was still good last season. However, the team’s appearance began to be inconsistent this season. They could be beaten by midfield team Hoffenheim, 1-2, and held draw by a relegation zone team, Augsburg, 2-2.
At one moment, Bayern can find the best game. They slaughtered last season’s Champions League finalists, Tottenham Hotspur, with a score of 7-2, in the Champions League group stage match this season. However, when against a team that is not favored like Olympiakos, Bayern only won 3-2.
The climax, Kovac had to meet the club he had trained, Eintracht, last weekend. This defeat is reminiscent of a match that brought the two clubs together in May 2018 when Kovac was still training Frankfurt and defeated Bayern, 3-1, to win the German Cup title.
Together with Frankfurt, Kovac demonstrated a long ball game combined with the speed of the players at the time such as Ante Rebic. Through “Kovanaccio”, Kovac displays a straightforward, fast, hard and pressing game.
However, Salihamidzic’s prediction apparently missed. The German newspaper, Bild, reported that the Bayern players began to dare to criticize, even hostile to Kovac openly.
Something similar happened in the era of Carlo Ancelotti’s coaching in 2017. Ancelotti was opposed by key players such as Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, and Thomas Mueller. “As a coach you cannot be hostile to players,” Hoeness said at the time.
As history repeats itself, Frankfurt beats Bayern and there is a coach who must be fired. Ironically, Frankfurt is also the entrance as well as the exit for Kovac. “I know how business (in the soccer industry) works. I’m not naive, “Kovac said.
Looking for a replacement
With Kovac’s departure, Bayern’s management must practically move quickly to find a replacement coach. Big names such as Massimiliano Allegri (ex-Juventus coach), Arsene Wenger (ex-Arsenal coach), Jose Mourinho (ex-Manchester United coach), and Erik ten Hag (Ajax coach) have entered as candidates. “If Bayern were to call, I would not reject it,” Ten Hag said.
Meanwhile, Bayern led by assistant coach Hansi Flick. He will lead Bayern when facing Olympiacos in the Champions League match on Thursday (07/11/2019).
