Ausführlicher Artikel über Nico Kovac im Athletic:
Besonders interessant der Teil über seine Zeit Bayern als Trainer und über das Player Management heutzutage:
"Bayern was tough. Kovac learned a lot from working with a squad full of stars. He found it difficult to balance the demands for playing time and handle the dynamics of a powerful dressing room. The same issue flummoxed Carlo Ancelotti. Every coach has had to contend with it.
What is the secret to controlling powerful players and keeping them happy? “Giovanni Trapattoni was one of my coaches and he once said me, ‘Niko, you need players in the dressing room who are managing the dressing room. If you try to control everything — especially at the biggest clubs, where the biggest players are — it becomes impossible’. He also talked about how everybody must understand their role in the group: OK, you know your role on the pitch, but you must also know your social role in the group.”
Kovac’s thoughts have also changed since his playing days. “Players today need much more information. You need to convince them so that it’s clear what they should do with the ball and without the ball – they must understand why you’re asking them.
“If you just order them to do something, they’ll say, ‘Why should I?’
“As a player, I was like that — I was always asking myself that question and wondering why the coach was expecting that of me. Not what, but why?
“But it was a different time. Our coaches back then had more authority. It was, ‘Don’t ask, just do it – I know best. I know exactly how and why’."
Kovac does not hide behind a veil when describing his work. He is open about the fine print — and wishes there was more understanding about his profession. “I would like it if journalists saw what we do during the week and the kind of work that goes into that. Not just the work on the pitch with the players, but off the pitch too — how you prepare everything, how you make sense of your own thoughts and how you tell players when they’re not playing.”
Throughout the conversation, Kovac keeps coming back to the humanity of the job. “My point of view is always that I want to give the players every bit of information they need. Because if they don’t get all of it, I end up blaming myself. That’s what it’s like during and after games. You’re asking yourself: Did you do everything right?
“But people only ever see the result.”