Bayern Munich to make decision on Niko Kovac

Niko Kovac as Bayern Munich suffered their biggest defeat since 2009, losing 5-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt. A 10th-minute red card for Jerome Boateng led to a thorough 5-1 rout.

Kovac said: ‘We started well, but everything we had planned was thrown into disarray after eight minutes. It’s tough to play more than 80 minutes with a man down here in Frankfurt. I think we did well in the first half despite going two goals down. We pulled one back and were in control. Then we conceded the third four minutes after half-time. Of course we mustn’t lose 5-1 here. Our performance today is not what we expect of ourselves. We didn’t play well in the second half.’

Boateng was sent off after bringing down Goncalo Paciencia as the last man just eight minutes into the game at the Commerzbank-Arena.

Not long after the match, Bayern officially announced that Sunday’s (planned) open training session would no longer be open to the public. The decision to close Sunday’s training session does not have to do with Niko Kovac’s standing; rather Bayern wants the players to be able to train in peace, away from the public eye. Plettenberg maintains that a decision about Kovac will, however, be made at some point before the end of the weekend.

AS also suggest that Ajax manager Erik ten Hag and Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino are realistic options that are being weighed by Bayern.

Bayern are eyeing the possibility of hiring former Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri if Kovac were to get the sack in the near future. The Italian manager left Juventus after the end of the 2018/2019 season and was replaced by former Napoli and Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri. Allegri collected 5 Scudettos during his time as Juventus boss and also took his side to the Champions League final in 2015 in Berlin, which they lost to Barcelona, 3-1. Allegri could prove to be a more than capable fit to replace Kovac, though he doesn’t possess Bundesliga experience and doesn’t speak German, which both Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness have said is preference for Bayern managers, at least before they hired Kovac after Jupp Heynckes retired.

Bayern will be expected to defeat Olympiacos and seal their passage to the Champions League knockout stages.