Released at Monaco in January
Ex-Bayern coach Niko Kovac has been without a club since the beginning of January after a year and a half without a title at AS Monaco. On Sunday, the 50-year-old explained in an interview with the “Bild live” format why he was taking a break from professional football for the time being.
“It’s really very intense, especially when you play every third day, travel a lot and also have to watch other games. So I said to myself that I needed some free time. I want to do everything that I couldn’t do recently,” said the native of Berlin, who is one of the 20 most successful foreign coaches in league history with an average of 1.64 points per game from 121 Bundesliga games.
According to reports, Kovac had received several inquiries until recently – these were not only about Bundesliga clubs, but also about clubs from abroad and two national teams. At his former club Hertha BSC, for which the former midfielder played 242 competitive games during his active career, there had been multiple speculations about his name given the ongoing sporting decline under Tayfun Korkut.
Korkut’s contract on the Spree only lasts until the end of the season, and the 47-year-old is still waiting for his first win in 2022. Although Fredi Bobic, an old acquaintance from successful Frankfurt days, could theoretically be waiting for Kovac at the capital club, he would definitely no longer be available for a commitment during the current season.
Ex-FC Bayern coach Kovac: time in France “helped me personally”
He doesn’t want to “replace someone in the middle” and will “not do anything until the summer,” said Kovac, who was also “surprised” that “my name was played everywhere – nobody spoke to me.”
Despite his early dismissal, the coach does not look back with resentment at the time in France and the conscious step taken to AS Monaco: “I think a coach has to identify with it and be convinced in which direction it is going. Then you are open to everything. The step to France brought me a lot as a person and as a coach. I once got to know another country, another culture and other characteristics. That helped me personally.”
Since 2010: All FIFA World Coaches of the Year
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