Niko Kovac to start Bayern Munich career with questions on capability

When the final whistle blew on last May's cup final, and Eintracht Frankfurt's sensational victory over Bayern Munich was sealed, even some Bayern fans started singing the Frankfurt coach's name.

Niko Kovac had just crowned two successful years at Eintracht with a trophy, and would be packing his bags for Munich once the celebrations died down. Even in the misery of defeat, Bayern fans could take consolation in the fact that Kovac, the man who had masterminded their downfall, would soon be in their dugout.

Kovac will start his first league campaign in charge of Bayern on Friday evening, as the Munich giants host Hoffenheim in the season opener. For both club and coach, it could be a make or break year. Depending on who you listen to, Kovac could be the man who builds a new era at Bayern, or could find himself completely out of his depth.

'Niko is the perfect coach for us,' said sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic when he announced Kovac's appointment back in the spring. After Bayern's desperate pleading with Jupp Heynckes and failed attempts to lure Thomas Tuchel, there were a few who sniggered at the comment. On the other hand, Kovac certainly knows and understands the club better than, say, Carlo Ancelotti or Pep Guardiola.

Having played for Bayern alongside Salihamidzic, there is a sense that Kovac can take Bayern back to basics, to their simple, time-honoured recipe of being a tightly-knit community with a winning siege mentality. Yet how basic can he afford to be? 'We need to try to bring together the joy, passion, team spirit and egotism which every team has,' said Kovac ahead of Friday's clash with Hoffenheim. 'Only if we do that can we achieve great things. The team comes before everything.'

That was certainly Kovac's recipe for success at Frankfurt. A clever man-manager, he knew how best to utilise the different personalities in his squad, and developed a team with attitude, grit and discipline. That may be harder at Bayern, where the egos are bigger and the ripples from any disharmony reach far wider. As Kovac himself put it, everyone is a superstar at Bayern, so there are always going to be disappointed faces when the team sheet is read out.

When it comes to managing egos, though, Kovac has passed his first test. For a long time before his arrival, it appeared that star striker Robert Lewandowski was agitating for a move away from Munich. He eventually stayed, but told Bild this week that he had felt unfairly treated by the Bayern hierarchy. It was Kovac, it seems, who restored Lewandowski's trust.

'It was important to be able to put myself in his shoes as an outsider,' said Kovac of his talks with the Polish striker. 'We talked on a level where I wasn't coming at him as a coach, I was coming at him as a human being.'

Whatever Kovac did, it certainly seemed to work. Lewandowski, who had been off-colour at the end of last season, marked his return to form with an explosive performance in the German Supercup earlier this month, banging in a hat-trick to lead Bayern to a 5-0 win over Frankfurt, of all teams.

At that moment, it looked like Bayern could be in for another highly successful year under their new boss. Yet a week later, Kovac and his team were brought bumping back into reality. In the first round of the German Cup, they stumbled to a scrappy, late 1-0 victory over fourth division side Drochtersen/Assel. Having looked at their imperious best the week before, they now looked directionless.

Kovac had picked a full strength team so this was more than just a hiccup in cup conditions. It was a worrying sign that there are still some fundamentals that he is yet to address. A sign that, in this team, joy, passion and team spirit will probably not go as far as they did at Frankfurt. At Bayern, you need a comprehensive and dynamic attacking philosophy if you are going to achieve great things.

The new coach has time, and yet for now, he remains something of an enigma. His man-management skills are not in doubt, and two consecutive cup finals with Frankfurt attest to his pedigree. Yet whether he has the tactical excellence and the hard-nosed consistency to lead Bayern to comparable success is yet to be seen.

This Friday's game will be his biggest test yet. A fearless side who finished third last season and have a strong record against Bayern, Julian Nagelsmann's Hoffenheim are the perfect early season litmus test. After this evening, we will be a little closer to knowing whether Niko Kovac is the real deal.