Bayern ordered to shape up after Kovac exit
MUNICH: Bayern Munich’s stars have been told to knuckle down under interim coach Hansi Flick ahead of their Champions League clash with Olympiakos following Niko Kovac’s sacking.
Former Bayern and West Germany defender Andreas Brehme says the Bayern squad “let Kovac down” with a series of lacklustre recent performances that led to the coach’s dismissal, while the club’s director of sport Hasan Salihamidzic has demanded more effort from his off-form players.
“I now expect a positive development from our players and absolute motivation to achieve our goals for this season,” he said.
Group B leaders Bayern host bottom side Olympiakos at the Allianz Arena with a fourth straight Champions League win in their sights after beating the Greek side 3-2 in Athens a fortnight ago. Bayern already have one foot in the knock-out phase as they currently sit five-points clear of second-placed Tottenham, who they host in December having routed them 7-2 in north London last month.
However, all is not well behind the scenes at the Bavarian giants, who dismissed Kovac on Sunday after winning just three of their last six games in all competitions.
Saturday’s embarrassing 5-1 drubbing at Eintracht Frankfurt —the defending champions’ heaviest league defeat for a decade—did for Kovac, who never enjoyed the full confidence of the club despite winning the league and cup double last season.
The pressure is now on Bayern to perform under caretaker boss Flick against Olympiakos and prove that the weekend’s battering was just a blip. Bayern need a confidence-boosting win in Europe before hosting secondplaced Borussia Dortmund on Saturday in the Bundesliga with defending champions Munich fourth in the table, trailing current leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach by four points.
Kovac’s former assistant Flick, part of the Germany staff when they won the 2014 World Cup, has been promoted while a new head coach is sought with Ajax’s Erik ten Hag, Jose Mourinho and Massimiliano Allegri among the early contenders.
Flick takes charge of Bayern, albeit temporarily, with ringing endorsements from within the Germany set-up.
National head coach Joachim Loew recently said Flick has “enormous qualities”, both for his football knowledge and as a man manager, while team director Ol i v e r Bi e r hof f described Flick as a “competent expert”.
“He has already taken on the role as head coach in other jobs (at Hoffenheim and lower league club Victoria Bammental), I don’t think he is afraid of it,” added Bierhoff in Berlin on Monday.
However, worryingly for both Flick and Bayern, there are reports that top-scoring striker Lewandowski needs a groin operation, which is likely to take place during next week’s international break and could rule him out for up to 10 days.
The 31-year-old is enjoying the best season of his career to date with 20 goals in 16 games, including record 14 in the first 10 Bundesliga matches this season.
TEN HAG FOR BAYERN? LONDON: Ajax coach Erik ten Hag on Monday ruled himself out of the running to take over as Bayern Munich coach for the time being, saying he would be staying at the Dutch champions until at least the end of the current season. Bayern sacked Niko Kovac on Sunday, sparking heated speculation as to who the Bundesliga giants could appoint in his place, with Ten Hag reportedly high on the list after Ajax’s scintillating run to the Champions League semi-finals last season and their impressive start to this campaign.
T e n Hag was Ba y e r n ’ s reserves coach from 2013-15 under Pep Guardiola, said on Monday he would not be tempted to return to Bavaria just yet.
Asked at Stamford Bridge whether he would be staying at Ajax ahead of his side’s Champions League clash with Chelsea on Tuesday, he said “I can confirm that. I have a strong connection with my team, with everyone at Ajax, so I can confirm that I stay in Ajax this season,” said the 49-year-old.
However Ten Hag, who is under contract at Ajax until 2022, refused to entirely rule out an eventual move. “Bayern is a fantastic club, I felt really comfortable and enjoyed to work there and they are still in my heart but now I’m in Ajax,” he said. “I’m not a dreamer, I focus on Ajax, and that is important. I live for today and my focus is on Ajax.”