Niko Kovac lost the dressing room at Bayern Munich this season
Uli Hoeness confirms reports that Niko Kovac had lost the dressing room this season.
Bayern Munich had a fairly decent start to the season. The defending Champions suffered defeat against Borussia Dortmund in DFL Supercup but continued to get some strong results in the league. In the Champions League, they delivered a fantastic performance at Tottenham Hotspurs stadium.
However, the performances started deteriorating after the 7-2 victory against Spurs. Bayern dropped points in three league games in the past four weeks. Niko Kovac was feeling the heat in Bavaria, and the 5-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt sealed his fate. The Croatian left Bayern last weekend as the club was not happy with the recent performances.
Die Roten were reportedly ready to review his position after the games against Olympiakos and Borussia Dortmund. The German reports suggest that the situation changed quickly last Sunday as Kovac offered his resignation despite getting two matches to save his job.
The noise in German media suggested that the players at Bayern were no longer supporting Kovac as they used to in his first season at the club. Speaking to ZDF (via Bild), Uli Hoeness confirmed that all was not well in the dressing room under Kovac.
"“There have certainly been currents within the team that wanted the coach away. That’s why the leadership reacted accordingly.”"
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Hoeness later told Kicker that the biggest pressure came from players in Kovac’s departure. The club president also insisted that he is always open to listening to opinions from players, but ultimately the decision lies in the hands of club chiefs.
There were reports about tensions in the dressing room last season. However, Kovac was quick to dismiss these rumours. The Croatian went on to win the domestic double last season. The players showed that they were completely behind him by delivering top performances in the second half of the season.
Thiago Alcantara and Manuel Neuer also praised Kovac for winning the two domestic trophies in his first season at the club. However, things are likely to have gone sour this campaign as Kovac criticized players in the press conferences for poor performances.
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This is the same situation that panned out during Carlo Ancelotti’s second season at the club. The Italian is generally considered as one of the best man managers in football, but he also lost the dressing room. Players having the power is not the right way to go, but in modern football, they have the upper hand over the coaches.