New coach Niko Kovac has highlighted his seven rules for success at Bayern Munich, including daily blood tests and lukewarm water.
As the World Cup winds down to the latter stages of the competition, new manager Niko Kovac has began his reign at Bayern Munich. The Croatian has already begun his intense training regime and is eager to bring more directness to the Bavarian’s play.
Kovac promises much change for Bayern Munich, while maintaining the club’s “Mia San Mia” mindset. Per a report from Bild (translation via Twitter’s @iMiaSanMia), Kovac has seven rules for success at his new club. He recently gave a perfect example of the first, which solidifies that he is the boss, not the players.
By reaching out to Lewandowski to encourage him to stay at the club — but still emphasizing that he improve his performances — Kovac shows he dictates what happens with the squad.
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Second, Kovac has mandated daily blood tests for the players. The Croatian is big on fitness and medical excellence, and he expects his team to respect that.
Third, squad training takes precedence over all marketing endeavors. When the club goes out on their tour of the USA, for example, marketing activities will not be permitted until after 8:30 pm. Complete focus on training should be the priority of all players.
Fourth, Kovac expects his squad to win with the “Balkan gene.” A Croatian, Kovac says his hard work and winning mentality is something that has stuck with him throughout his whole life. He expects this to carry over into his new club.
Fifth, the Croatian emphasizes the importance of having experts at the club who know better than the players. His squad will be expected to respect the decisions made by coaching staff and trainers who are experts in their individual fields.
Sixth, “food is not for fun.” Speaking of experts, Kovac has a dietary expert at the club and expects his players to put a heavy emphasis on maintaining a healthy diet. Part of this means drinking lukewarm water to help with metabolism.
Kovac’s seventh and final rule is that the club is always bigger than the player. Playing in the streets of Berlin in his youth, Kovac learned the importance of playing as a team. He wants to unify the squad and hopes to convince all Bayern players to give 100% each and every match.
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Niko Kovac has made an explosive start to his Bayern Munich managerial regime. Some of these rules seem pretty basic, but others point to a no-nonsense coach who really looks to bring hard work and dedication to a group of players who have too often looked lethargic in recent seasons.