Niko Kovac sacked at AS Monaco because of discrepancies – Croatian makes mistakes similar to those at Bayern Munich

The Association Sportive de Monaco said goodbye to trainer Niko Kovac on New Year’s Day on their website in four meager sentences.

The club from the Principality even waived a “thank you” or the obligatory “best wishes” in its message. A heartless farewell that spoke volumes. Because from a sporting point of view, Kovac’s 18 months in Monaco would have been cause for gratitude.

In the summer of 2020, the Croatian replaced Roberto Moreno, who had only finished ninth with the team in the preseason. The former Bayern coach fought for the championship for a long time in his first season with the Monegasque and at the end of the season led the team into the Champions League qualification just five points behind champions Lille.

His debut season in Munich was also successful: he won the double at FC Bayern in his first year.

“I was a little surprised when I heard about Kovac’s dismissal,” explained Football expert Raphaël Brosse from Eurosport France. “He did a very good job in Monaco. You played very attractive football, very aggressively and with a lot of commitment,” analyzes Brosse.

Kovac gets the curve in a sporty way

Although Kovac missed the Champions League in the qualifying games against Shakhtar Donetsk in August, in the Europa League they easily qualified as group winners for the round of 16. In Ligue 1, the team started the season weak and was only in 19th place. But Kovac got the curve before the Christmas holidays.

Of the last seven league games, Monaco only lost to Paris Saint-Germain (0-2) and thus pushed themselves back within striking distance in the battle for the Champions League ranks. “The year 2021 was positive overall. The first half of our season may not be perfect, but we have time to react. We will analyze and come back stronger in January,” said Vice President Oleg Petrov after the first half of the season.

At the end of the year, AS Monaco won 2-1 against Stade Rennes. “That’s what we needed, especially before the Christmas holidays,” said Kovac after the last game of the year.

“Coming home with a win and closing the gap with you and the rest of the league is good,” he said, adding: “Now we will have a nice Christmas break.”

But Kovac will not return to the principality in 2022.

Players stagnate under Kovac

Especially players like the 21-year-old super talent Aurélien Tchouaméni, midfielder Youssof Fofana or the Brazilian Jean Lucas missed the next stage of development. In addition, the team apparently criticized the tactical instructions of their coach.

In Munich, too, various players had stagnated in their development under the 50-year-old. “You can’t try to drive 200 km / h on the autobahn if you can only manage 100,” said Kovac in October 2019, referring to the qualities of his squad in Munich.

After his release in Munich, Hansi Flick shifted up several gears and won the triple of championship, cup and Champions League with the same squad. Players like Alphonso Davies, Serge Gnabry and Leon Goretzka exploded under today’s national coach after Kovac left.

Cut up the tablecloth between the team and the coach

Ultimately, the decisive factor for the dismissal in the principality were the sporting reasons only in part: “It is known that the players did not like Kovac’s authoritarian management,” explains football expert Brosse.

The “L’Équipe” had also reported that there had been disagreements between the team and the coach, even wrote of a “quasi-military” leadership style. As with FC Bayern 2019, Kovac failed in Monaco because of his dealings with the team.

In particular, the later top performer Thomas Müller hardly played a role under Kovac. “If there is a need, he will certainly get his minutes”, the Croatian had said publicly, for which he received heavy criticism and later apologized.

But he made the same mistake again in Monaco.

In the principality, Kovac messed up with his captain and top scorer Wissam Ben Yedder. He also publicly counted the 31-year-old. Before the game against Paris Saint-Germain, the Croatian criticized his attacker’s defensive performance at the press conference: “Without the ball, I expect more.”

Kovac with the same mistakes as in Munich

Although the Tunisian center forward scored by far the most goals at the Monegas with 14 goals, he has only started three times in the last six games. Only in two of the 19 games in Ligue 1 did Ben Yedder play the full distance.

Midfielder Fofana, who was a key player last season, also found himself on the bench for no apparent reason this season. “The bond between Kovac and many players was cut or at least torn,” said football expert Brosse from Eurosport France, explaining the separation.

The parallels to his time with the record champions are remarkable: Kovac also made a convincing athletic performance in Munich in the first season. In Munich, too, many players missed the next step in their second year under Kovac. In Munich, too, Kovac fell out with key players and lost the cabin.

In a similar way, the native of Berlin is now experiencing his second dismissal within around two years.

Unlike in Munich, Kovac leaves Monaco without thanks or good wishes.