Liverpool focus their attention back to the Champions League on Tuesday night as last season’s runners-up look to continue their bid to elevate their European Cup haul to six trophies.
Standing in their way are a team Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is more than familiar with in German giants Bayern Munich - who have also won the competition five times - along with their manager Niko Kovac.
Kovac, a surprise appointment, hasn’t exactly enjoyed the smoothest of rides since replacing veteran manager Jupp Heynckes in the summer. The Croatian has come under-fire at various points this term, while it’s fair to say that his profile and relative inexperience in the top echelons of club football means that he’s not exactly viewed as a blockbuster boss, over on these shores or in Germany.
However, victory over Liverpool in the last-16 would undoubtedly see his reputation soar.
Not sure who he is or what he's about? Have no fear, The Sportsman has profiled the Bayern boss; looking at his managerial history, achievements in the dugout, and views ahead of the crunch clash at Anfield.
Who Is Niko Kovac?
Niko Kovac, born in Berlin, is arguably best known internationally for his role in the Croatian national team. Injury meant he missed his country’s third-place finish at the 1998 World Cup, but he featured at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004 - he scored in the 4-2 defeat to England - while he went on to skipper The Blazers at both the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.
Kovac spent the majority of his playing career in Germany at the likes of Hertha BSC, Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV, and Bayern Munich - where he won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and Intercontinental Cup - while his final port of call came in Austria with Red Bull Salzburg, lifting the league title in 2007.
When did he become Bayern boss?
Kovac first delved into the coaching world at Red Bull Salzburg, taking charge of the club’s second string, before elevating himself to assistant manager at senior level. He then oversaw Croatia’s U21s, and in 2013 was promoted to manager of the senior side, while his first official club level position came at Frankfurt in 2016.
Kovac switched Bundesliga dugouts last summer when he was surprisingly named as Heynckes' successor at Bayern Munich, who had to shell out €2.2 million to release the Croatian from his contract, and in the process he became the fourth former player to manage the club, and third of his countrymen.
Since 2013 he’s been assisted by his brother Robert.
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What has he achieved in management?
Kovac managed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but failed to propel Croatia past the group stages. Last season he led Frankfurt, at the expense of Bayern, to their first piece of silverware since 1988, in the form of 2018 DFB-Pokal Final having lost the final the year before to Borussia Dortmund.
In his first match in charge of Bayern, Kovac lifted the DFL-Supercup following a 5-0 thumping of former employers Frankfurt.
Has he ever faced Jurgen Klopp?
To put it simply, no, meaning Tuesday’s encounter at Anfield will be the first ever duel between the managers.
It’s the first time the clubs have clashed competitively in 18 years, dating back to the 2001 European Super Cup when Liverpool triumphed 3-2. Meanwhile, Klopp has faced Bayern a whopping total of 29 times; winning nine, drawing four, and losing the other 16, and come Tuesday night he would have come up against every Bayern boss this century.
What’s he said about Liverpool?
Munich may be behind rivals Dortmund in the race for Bundesliga glory, but under Kovac they remain unbeaten in the Champions League, having accumulated 14 points from six group stage matches.
However, Liverpool are a different kettle of fish than the likes of AEK Athens.
"This is a great draw, a top-level clash," Kovac said previously, as reported in FourFourTwo.
"They have a great team and a great coach. They lost the final last year unhappily. For me, this is an anticipated semi-final.
"I'm looking forward to the game at Anfield. Having the second game at home is a small advantage. The odds are 50-50, but in two months many things could happen.”
Kovac will be without the suspended Thomas Muller, the injured duo Arjen Robben and Corentin Tolisso, and also Jerome Boateng who is ill, but last weekend’s two-goal hero Kingsley Coman is fit to play.
