“It’s all about togetherness and to pay the other the necessary respect. If you do that, then we all would feel better. It is not always a taking but also a giving in both directions.”
― Niko Kovac
“The words ‘give up,’ ‘raise the white flag’ do not exist in my vocabulary.”
― Niko Kovac
“Giving up is the first way to fail. It does not exist for me.”
― Niko Kovac
“Everyone wants to score goals – that’s the point of football – but you have to look at the whole situation in detail.”
― Niko Kovac
“We have to learn from the past.”
― Niko Kovac
“Mistakes happen, but if you make them in the Bundesliga, you will be punished.”
― Niko Kovac
“Victories are always important.”
― Niko Kovac
“For me personally, Pep Guardiola is the best coach in the world.”
― Niko Kovac
“We need to be confident, but do not look back; look at what’s coming.”
― Niko Kovac
“What was good yesterday might be bad the next morning, so you have to keep calm.”
― Niko Kovac
“We should not always discuss whether or not a player is angry.”
― Niko Kovac
“We’re all different, and we have to accept and tolerate each other’s characteristics.”
― Niko Kovac
“If you stick to what the Bible teaches, then you have everything you need: honesty, openness, friendliness, respect, tolerance, and much more, which is often lost nowadays.”
― Niko Kovac
“Competition means the best player will play.”
― Niko Kovac
“There are a lot of good players all over the world.”
― Niko Kovac
“Fortunately, I had some very good coaches.”
― Niko Kovac
“I never panic.”
― Niko Kovac
“Playing for the national team is not the same as playing for your club.”
― Niko Kovac
“I question everything I do.”
― Niko Kovac
“For the players, these top, top, top games or these top, top, top events – like a World Cup or a European Championship – are not common but, of course, something special.”
― Niko Kovac
“We cannot play soccer without hands. You need your arms while running.”
― Niko Kovac
“My job is to keep my players fit and fresh for the important games.”
― Niko Kovac
“You have seen it: You can put something into the world, and all of a sudden, everybody believes that. Like throwing a fishing rod and the fish bite into.”
― Niko Kovac
“For the top stars, it’s just more appealing to go to the Premier League than to Bundesliga.”
― Niko Kovac
“There is only one Messi. No matter what I say, it’s too little. You have to shower him with superlatives.”
― Niko Kovac
“At Bayern, you always go into a season with the goal to win titles.”
― Niko Kovac
“I am an optimist, not a dreamer.”
― Niko Kovac
“I don’t underestimate any opponent.”
― Niko Kovac
“We want to win all of our matches and focus on ourselves.”
― Niko Kovac
“I have always said that I am a friend of VAR.”
― Niko Kovac
“Life writes the best stories.”
― Niko Kovac
“It’s not easy to play against a team with a man down.”
― Niko Kovac
“Morality is very important. We have to be together.”
― Niko Kovac
“When you fall, you always have the opportunity to get up.”
― Niko Kovac
“In football you have to look forward.”
― Niko Kovac
“I am the last person to start celebrating.”
― Niko Kovac
“In Germany, it is normal, when games end, you shake hands with your players.”
― Niko Kovac
“To say a player is past it at 29, 30 isn’t right.”
― Niko Kovac
“In the emotion, you say things that you regret the next day.”
― Niko Kovac
“We want to chase and seal the championship title. The decisive thing is to be at the top at the end of the season.”
― Niko Kovac
“I’ve always been someone who said that football is a contact sport.”
― Niko Kovac
“A lot of players are naturally talented, but you also have to work to improve yourself.”
― Niko Kovac
“Real Madrid without Cristiano Ronaldo are, of course, not what they were with Ronaldo, but they’re still a very good team.”
― Niko Kovac
“Everyone has their own taste, and you can argue about taste.”
― Niko Kovac
“Of course, the attacking players get the attention because they score the goals, score nice goals, and those are the moments that remain in memory. But I wish that other players who are not in the foreground, who still perform well for their club or association, get more recognition.”
― Niko Kovac
“Attacking is the tough part in football; defending is relatively easy.”
― Niko Kovac
“Those who know me know I’m always a fighter.”
― Niko Kovac
“My whole life, I have had to fight.”
― Niko Kovac
“Every player at Bayern Munich wants to play and should play – they all have good reasons.”
― Niko Kovac
“The players who play have to perform. If they don’t, then they will be replaced. That has always been the case.”
― Niko Kovac
“I know how the game works. If I field one, then the other complains. It’s always the same.”
― Niko Kovac
“I can’t play 50 players.”
― Niko Kovac
“It’s not easy to score three goals in 70 minutes.”
― Niko Kovac
“Football provides the most beautiful stories.”
― Niko Kovac
“When you’re together, you can do anything, be it in sports or in society.”
― Niko Kovac
“It is not for nothing that titles are decided at the back.”
― Niko Kovac
“The expectation in Munich is always high, this expectation I have towards myself personally and to my players. I was aware of that when I signed with Bayern.”
― Niko Kovac
“There will always be cases where one player plays, and another doesn’t.”
― Niko Kovac
“We just must make sure we give everything we can to become champions.”
― Niko Kovac
“You have to stick to your plan. Throwing everything overboard and inventing something on the spot does not make sense. You will never get that from me.”
― Niko Kovac
“If research can help us discover cures for diseases, it surely can improve a football team. Whether it’s data analysis or biomechanics, it can give you an edge – and I’d be a fool if I didn’t want that edge.”
― Niko Kovac
“I’m a firm believer in science.”
― Niko Kovac
“I don’t need players who won’t track back, and I’m certainly not keen on specialists.”
― Niko Kovac
“I prefer the 4-2-3-1 formation and stick to it but have my own interpretations.”
― Niko Kovac
“Empathy is important, openness, honesty, and an understanding for others.”
― Niko Kovac
“Fitness gives you confidence, and if you’re fit, you don’t have to wonder whether you’ll last the 90 minutes.”
― Niko Kovac
“You can’t manage every footballer the same. Of course you’d love to, but it doesn’t work like that. We’re not robots.”
― Niko Kovac
“We were raised as Christians, and religion plays an important role for us.”
― Niko Kovac
“A five-year contract is worth no more than a six-month contract these days; it’s very concerning.”
― Niko Kovac
“That’s the way people are in general: they see everything negatively at first and then choose to ask questions.”
― Niko Kovac
“Dembele is a great player.”
― Niko Kovac
“The money’s there in England. They try to gather the best players. We do it differently here at Bayern. We have no investors, no owners.”
― Niko Kovac
“Spending big money does not mean you win all the silverware.”
― Niko Kovac
“There are no guarantees. If you spent money, it’s no guarantee you win stuff.”
― Niko Kovac
“If the family sticks together, things are easy. If not, it will fall apart. There are several examples in history. Take Troy or take Caesar.”
― Niko Kovac
“I don’t believe it helps when internal affairs are made public.”
― Niko Kovac
“If, as Bayern, you lose 2-0 at Hertha, nobody believes you that you can still be satisfied with the performance.”
― Niko Kovac
“The pros stretch their bodies to the limit.”
― Niko Kovac
“Sometimes I make certain assumptions but find they’re not immediately obvious to my players.”
― Niko Kovac
“Expectations run immensely high in Croatia. We may only be a small country, but people expect us to be our best at every major tournament.”
― Niko Kovac
“Mentality beats quality.”
― Niko Kovac
“Pulisic is a top player.”
― Niko Kovac
“I can only pass on what is inside of me, whether it is love or money or the passion for dribbling or tricks with the ball.”
― Niko Kovac
“Just because a coach does not get out the clubs after a match but instead focuses on what he says, that’s not an indicator of cluelessness.”
― Niko Kovac
“A coach should not stir up headlines after a match.”
― Niko Kovac
“I can’t play with 12 players.”
― Niko Kovac
“You build up the opponent, and you lose confidence.”
― Niko Kovac
“If teams play Bayern, they bring another attitude to the pitch than if they play teams who are not Bayern.”
― Niko Kovac
“I want to play every single player, but I can only play 11 at a time.”
― Niko Kovac
“I’m a realist.”
― Niko Kovac
“Every player brings something from their own culture into the collective.”
― Niko Kovac
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