BUNDESLIGA THRILLER
Finale fever grips Germany as race goes to the wire
BAYERN Munich coach Niko Kovac and his Borussia Dortmund counterpart Lucien Favre both face a trip down memory lane today as the Bundesliga braces itself for the most nailbiting season finale in years.
Both Kovac and Favre will face their former clubs on a muchanticipated final day, as the title race goes down to the last weekend of the season for the first time since 2010.
Bayern currently sit two points ahead of Dortmund, and can claim a seventh straight league crown if they avoid defeat at home by Kovac’s old club Eintracht Frankfurt today.
Dortmund, meanwhile, travel to Favre’s old hunting ground at Borussia Moenchengladbach, knowing that they can only be crowned champions if they win and Bayern lose.
“We need to focus on our
game,” said Favre on Thursday, adding that Dortmund needed to be prepared for all eventualities against Gladbach, whom he coached between 2011 and 2015.
There is more than the title at stake on Saturday, with both Gladbach and Frankfurt still in the running for Champions League qualification.
Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc joked on Thursday that he would not send Frankfurt a crate of beer if they beat Bayern.
Zorc admitted that Bayern were in “pole position“, but confirmed that the club were making plans for a potential title celebration in the Dortmund town centre.
Bayern coach Kovac said on Thursday that he was proud to be on the verge of the title, having trailed Dortmund by nine points in December.
The Croatian said he was expecting an emotional afternoon today, when his old club Frankfurt come to Munich.
Bayern have not won the title in front of their own fans since 2000, and are preparing to bid farewell to club icons Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.
Kovac, who steered Frankfurt away from relegation in 2016 before leading them to glory in the German Cup last season, said that the pressure to win the title was nothing compared to a relegation fight.
Yet the under-fire coach knows that today’s meeting with his Frankfurt past could yet define his Bayern future.
Rumours that Kovac is on the verge of the sack have increased in the build-up to the Frankfurt game, but the Croatian was philosophical on Thursday.
“I like the job but I am also independent. I have always been a fighter and have never given up,” he said.
With today’s title decider and next weekend’s German Cup final against RB Leipzig, Kovac has two chances to win silverware in the next week, and is determined to take both of them.
“We must win trophies,” he said.