Former Bayern coach Niko Kovač has reportedly been on leave as head coach at AS Monaco soccer club. The people in charge of the French first division team had told the 50-year-old Croat that he was no longer responsible for the team, the newspaper wrote The team. Kovač did not seem particularly surprised by the decision, but seemed taken. An official confirmation from the club for the separation was initially pending, however, the news agency also reported on it and cited sources close to the club.
From July 2018 to November 2019, Kovač was the coach of FC Bayern and won the double in 2019. The Croat had come from Eintracht Frankfurt and had previously won the cup final with the Hessians against his future employer. He also had to leave FC Bayern in November 2020 because the hoped-for successes did not materialize.
The former Bundesliga professional Kovač had done well in his first season with Monaco and finished third in the French championship. In the summer, however, the team missed qualifying for the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine.
Even after that, things didn’t go smoothly. The Kovač team around the former German U21 national goalkeeper Alexander Nübel and national player Kevin Volland lost against the top teams in Ligue 1. After the first half of the season, the Monegasque are only sixth in the table. However, second and third place are only four points away.
In the past few days there had already been rumors that those responsible were not satisfied with Kovač. The lack of further development of the team was a problem, it said. He was unable to raise the level of his team, nor did he advance the players individually.
The last game before the Christmas break Monaco had won 2-1 against the current fourth-placed Stade Rennes, for Kovač it should have been the last game as head coach of the Ligue 1 club in the principality. On Sunday, Monaco will continue in the Coupe de France at the second division US Quevilly-Rouen Metropole. Last season, the Monegasque reached the final, but lost the final against Paris Saint-Germain.
The Croatian’s contract ran until 2023, actually, Kovač had big plans. His goal is “to bring Monaco back to the top of Ligue 1. We want to achieve the maximum of what is possible here,” Kovač said in July 2020 when he was introduced.
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