Bayern Munich has announced on Sunday that the club has sacked Niko Kovac as manager after Saturday’s embarrassing 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt. This is the team’s second league loss and the fifth game from 10 in which it has dropped points this season.
Bayern Munich Sack Head Coach Niko Kovac
The club said in a statement that it had “relieved head coach Niko Kovac of his duties” after he had talks with club president Uli Hoeneß, chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic. The statement noted that Kovac had offered to resign.
Bayern CEO Rummenigge said, “The performances of our team in recent weeks and the results have shown us that there was a need for action. Uli Hoeneß, Hasan Salihamidzic and I had an open and serious discussion with Niko this Sunday based on that and came to the mutual decision that Niko is no longer head coach of FC Bayern. We all regret this development. I would like to thank Niko Kovac on behalf of FC Bayern for his work, especially for winning the doubles this past season.”
The club has further informed that the Assistant coach Hansi Flick, will take over “for the time being” and will be in charge for Wednesday’s Champions League game at home against Olympiakos and Saturday’s Bundesliga clash with Borussia Dortmund.
The 48-year-old Kovac had been in charge since the beginning of last season in 2018 when he led Bayern to a German cup and league double.
Kovac was quoted as saying in the statement, “I think this is the right decision for the club at this point in time. The results and also the way we were playing recently led me to this decision. My brother Robert and I thank Bayern for the last almost one and a half years. At this time our team won the league, the German Cup and the German Supercup. It was a good time.”
He further added, “During this time, our team has won the championship, the DFB Cup and the Supercup. It was a good time. I wish the club and the team all the best.”
Meanwhile, Bayern captain Manuel Neuer said of the defeat in Frankfurt, “It’s not a huge surprise what happened. It’s just not happening. Something has to change.”
While Robert Lewandowski proved a reliable goal-scorer, the rest of the team lacked balance and Kovac’s problems were made worse by serious injuries to defenders Niklas Süle and Lucas Hernández. Jérôme Boateng will be suspended for the game against Dortmund following his early red card in Frankfurt.
