Manuel Neuer praises Niko Kovac for successful Bayern Munich season
Manuel Neuer has nothing but praise for Niko Kovac after leading his side to win the domestic double in his first season as manager at Bayern Munich.
It has been a strange season, albeit a successful one, for Bayern Munich, who defended the Bundesliga title and lifted the DFB Pokal. Niko Kovac was on the receiving end of much criticism throughout the campaign, however, due to Bayern’s inconsistent performances. But the Croatian manager ultimately ended up becoming the first person win the domestic double in Germany as both a player and manager.
Despite the double, there have been serious doubts over Kovac’s future at the club. German reports earlier this month linked Bayern with some of the top managers in Europe. Moreover, the dressing room is apparently not exactly happy with Kovac’s methods, as numerous players struggled to get adequate game time this season.
Despite the claims about various players’ unhappiness, Bayern captain Manuel Neuer has heaped a lot of praise on Kovac for guiding the club to two trophies in his first season.
Speaking to Kicker, Neuer pointed out that Kovac deserves much respect for handling a difficult situation midway through the campaign. The German goalkeeper admitted that the players showed a lot of character to win the Bundesliga title after conceding a huge lead to Borussia Dortmund before the winter break.
"“If you become a double winner, it’s just a successful season, which is great after the difficult time, and for Niko Kovac, for whom it was certainly not easy. He’s focused on football and he’s always been on our side, so it was a great achievement for him because it has been really difficult for him lately.“We’re proud of what we did in the second half of the season. It was a really strong performance when you consider how the first half of the season went for us. The whole team and the whole club be believed we could do it.”"
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The club hierarchy has finally cleared the clouds of uncertainty regarding Kovac and backed him to do a good job next season. Bayern wanted to give a nice farewell to the likes of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, so they didn’t make big changes to the squad last summer. This summer things will be different, and the club will make some key additions which will offer Kovac a much improved team for next season.
Kovac has enjoyed a good debut season, but the key task for him is to find a better level of consistency in the team’s performances next season. The Champions League is the dream trophy for Bayern, so he needs to rethink his approach in Europe against top teams. Bayern’s performance against Liverpool at the Allianz Arena was one of the worst Bayern have delivered at the European stage in the past few years. It is important that the club goes deep in the competition next year.
Bayern’s style of play has been criticized this season, but Niko Kovac has dismissed these claims on a few occasions. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also admitted recently that Bayern needs to play a better brand of football along with winning silverware regularly. The club surely expects Kovac to show improvement in this area next season.
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Neuer’s comments surely suggest that there is no dressing room mutiny against Kovac as it has been reported by the German media. The Croatian needs to keep his players on his side, considering the fact that unrest in the dressing room led to Carlo Ancelotti’s sacking in 2017. Kovac has deservedly earned himself one more season at Bayern, but now it is important for him to build upon this successful debut campaign.