Matthaeus: Niko Kovac Can Build Undisputed Era At Bayern Munich
14th August 2019
He suggested that the Croatian would find it easier now that senior players such as Arjen Robben, Mats Hummels and Franck Ribery had left Munich
- Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaeus believes under-fire coach Niko Kovac can define an era at the club and walk in the footsteps of managerial greats Ottmar Hitzfeld and Jupp Heynckes
- In an interview with AFP ahead of Bayern's Bundesliga opener against Hertha Berlin on Friday, the 1990 World Cup winner said that Kovac could emulate the achievements of Bayern's most successful coaches
- Kovac was under constant pressure in his first year at Bayern last season and faced repeated criticism from inside the dressing room, despite eventually leading the club to the domestic double
DORTMUND, Germany- Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaeus believes under-fire coach Niko
Kovac can define an era at the club and walk in the footsteps of managerial
greats Ottmar Hitzfeld and Jupp Heynckes.
In an interview with
AFP ahead of Bayern's Bundesliga opener against Hertha Berlin on Friday, the
1990 World Cup winner said that Kovac could emulate the achievements of
Bayern's most successful coaches and lead the club to Champions League
glory.
"I think Kovac
could even build an era in the way Ottmar Hitzfeld, Jupp Heynckes and Udo
Lattek did at Bayern," Matthaeus, 58, told AFP.
Kovac was under
constant pressure in his first year at Bayern last season and faced repeated
criticism from inside the dressing room, despite eventually leading the club to
the domestic double.
"He won the
double in difficult conditions last year. He showed he can fight," said
Matthaeus.
"He is a
football expert and I think this season will be easier for him."
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Matthaeus, who won
seven Bundesliga titles with Bayern as a player, said that Kovac has been
"left on his own" by players who had "the ear of the club
bosses".
He suggested that
the Croatian would find it easier now that senior players such as Arjen Robben,
Mats Hummels and Franck Ribery had left Munich.
"I think the
younger players he has now have the potential, the quality and the mentality
that Niko needs to play his kind of football," said Matthaeus.
The 58-year-old said
that he believed Bayern still had the quality to compete for the Champions
League.
"Bayern have 17
players who are really at the top level, but they cannot afford to suffer lots
of injuries as they did last year," he said.
"If any German
club is going to win the Champions League, it will be Bayern," he added.
- 'Other countries
have overtaken us' -
After they took the
title race to the final day of the season in 2018/19, many in Germany believe
that this could be Borussia Dortmund's year in the Bundesliga.
The perennial
runners-up have strengthened their squad with Thorgan Hazard, Julian
Brandt and Hummels, and have stated their intention to end Bayern's seven-year
hegemony over the German league.
Yet Matthaeus
believes that, despite their lack of movement in the transfer market, Bayern
remain favourites for the Bundesliga title.
"Dortmund have
invested a lot of money, but for me, they still don't have the quality Bayern
have."
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"There are more
Bayern players who would get into the Dortmund team than vice versa."
Matthaeus admitted
that, in general, the Bundesliga now lacked the quality of the English Premier
League and the Spanish Liga.
"Other
countries have overtaken us, you saw that with the English teams last season
and the Spanish teams in the last few years."
"They are the
strongest leagues in the world in terms of international success."
Yet the former
Germany captain warned the Bundesliga against abolishing the much disputed 50+1
rule, which guarantees majority control for club members at most clubs, in a
bid to attract foreign investors.
"In England,
the investors have created a two-speed society, where you have the top six and
then the rest of the league."
"In the
Bundesliga, we still have the feeling that the teams fighting relegation can
always frustrate or even beat the teams at the top."