NAfter driving from the airport to his new employer, AS Monaco, memories came back to Niko Kovac. “In 2001, we had training sessions here with Bayern Munich,” said the 48-year-old, who sooner signed the three-year contract as the new head coach of the French first division club after being received by the top management of Monegasse. “It is a big project and a big challenge. I’m looking forward to Monaco and I think it’s the right place for the right project, ”said Kovac in a club video released on Monday.
Already with the short flying visit to his new workplace, the former Bundesliga professional immediately focused on work: After the first training session on Monday morning, he immediately needed video sequences of the exercises to show his new players “what we want and what to do is, ”says Kovac to an assistant. In a good mood and full of zest for action, Kovac tackles his new task – and wants to learn quickly himself. The communication is still in English, but soon the Croatian wants to communicate with his players and staff in French.
“For me, that’s the right way to start a new chapter in a new country,” said Kovac after checking into the hotel where he was staying. The noble hostel was only allowed to enter Kovac after measuring the temperature and wearing a face mask. For him, the glamorous principality on the French Mediterranean coast is the fourth country in which he works.
First unit already on Monday
A day after his commitment, Kovac led the first training session on Monday, but without fans and media due to the Corona crisis. It will be presented promptly at a press conference, as the club announced on Monday. “Signed on Sunday, on Monday during training: Everything is going very quickly at AS Monaco”, commented the sports newspaper “L’Equipe”.
More than eight months after he left FC Bayern, Kovac takes on a new position and replaces the previous coach Robert Moreno, who only started at the turn of the year. “It’s hard when someone has to leave the club. I hope he quickly finds a new club and I wish him the best for the future, ”said Kovac about his predecessor. The trainer’s chair in the Principality is considered to be an ejection seat, and Kovac has been the fifth trainer on the sidelines of the Monegasse since late 2018. Can Kovac last longer than Thierry Henry, for example, who looked after Monaco between October 2018 and January 2019? “He has the aura that Robert Moreno was probably missing,” wrote the Nice Matin newspaper on Monday.
The Munich double winner of 2019 had announced before the Corona mandatory break that he was aiming for a commitment in the summer. Kovac was released on November 3, 2019 after a 1: 5 at Eintracht Frankfurt and 16 months as head coach of the German record champions FC Bayern. In the previous season he had won the championship and the DFB Cup with Bayern; a year earlier he made Eintracht Frankfurt the cup winner.
Kovac has a lot of work to do in the Principality. After 17th place in the 2018/19 season, AS Monaco also disappointed in the previous season, which had been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2017 Champions League semi-finalist only finished ninth in Ligue 1. “We will do our best and hope for a good future,” said Kovac. Kovac also doesn’t have much preparation time: the season in France starts on August 23, Stade Reims is the first opponent for Monaco in the home stadium.
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