A year and a half after his arrival in Ligue 1, Nico Kovac has undoubtedly carved his mark on Monaco, only this time the top brass of the Rosso cast a choice not to believe in "science". With the official announcement of Monaco, Kovac's era in Monaco came to an end.
From the slightly unexpected replacement of Robert Moreno as Monaco's new boss in the summer of 2020, to his unexpected departure from the Rosso a year and a half later, Kovac led Monaco to 74 official matches, including 57 in Ligue 1.
Kovac's first full season, two consecutive seasons in the middle and lower reaches of Monaco in the second half, finally ended with 78 points, 3rd in the table.
As a result, Kovac was voted the best manager of the 2020/21 Ligue 1 season by the team newspaper at the end of the season, surpassing the manager Garger who led Lille to the magical victory. The revival of Monaco, Kovac is the first to remember.
Fantastic 2020/21 season
Before Kovac came to power, Monaco experienced earthquake after earthquake. Monaco, which won paris in 2016/17 and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, has fallen apart after the summer of 2018.
The Red and White Legion, which experienced Jardin's short-term second entry, Henry and Robert Moreno, and others, were once in danger of being relegated. It was not until the summer of 2020, after Kovac resigned from Bayern for more than half a year, that he officially joined Monaco, that the situation improved.
Monaco was still a mess at the time. The main players who have experienced the magical journey of the 2016/17 season have basically all left, and Golovin, who became famous in the World Cup and had high hopes, has not met expectations in the two years since joining.
A season before being slashed by covid-19, Monaco ended up in 9th place in the table. But after Kovac took over, after several games of adaptation, Monaco first won 4-0 at home to Bordeaux, then 2-1 away to Lecnis, and staged a big comeback at home against Paris.
Between January and February 2021, monaco maintained a total win in official matches, with the exception of a 2-2 home draw with Lorient, and a season double against Paris grande in the Parc des Princes.
With a wave of all-win sprees, Monaco joined the ranks of the title race with Lille and Paris in the second half of last season. Although they lost to Paris in the French Cup final, Monaco eventually beat Lyon in Ligue 1, closely following Lille and Paris in third place in the table.
It was not easy to put the chaotic Monaco in order to lead the team to qualify for the Champions League and reach the final of the French Cup, and Kovac's first season in Monaco was undoubtedly a fantastic existence.
Entering the second half of the season since 2021, looking at the five major leagues, it is almost impossible to find a team that can compete with Monaco in terms of record. Kovac also finally overpowered the then Lille manager Garger to receive the title of best coach in Ligue 1 in 2020/21 by the team newspaper.
The arrival of Kovac made the Ligue 1 arena once set off a storm of "science".
Unexpected departure
Entering the 2021/22 season, Monaco had hoped to play a big game in the Champions League, but was hit in the face of the scoring in the qualifiers: the Rosso's and White army lost to Shakhtar Donetsk in the qualifying play-offs and had to move to the Europa League.
In Ligue 1, Monaco's performance has always fluctuated, far less than the courage of the second half of last season. Throughout the first half of the 2021/22 season, The only highlight of Monaco led by Kovac was to beat Real Sociedad in the Europa League group stage to advance to the knockout stages as the top of the group.
At the end of 2021, the state of Monaco finally recovered. But when people looked forward to whether Monaco could repeat the spirit of last season's low and high in the second half of the season, Monaco's official announcement allowed Kovac to end his one-and-a-half-year monaco managerial career.
The top brass of the Red and White Corps eventually gave up "believing in science."
The "scientific" way
Although the final result was not perfect, there is no doubt that Monaco was able to regain its former glory last season, and Kovac was instrumental. Kovac combined the red and white legions that had undergone great changes in the squad into a fully effective whole, while also allowing many players in the squad to shine again.
Golovin joined Monaco after becoming famous in the 2018 World Cup, but due to unclear positioning and injuries, Golovin has never played amazingly. But after getting out of injury in 2021, Golovin played 21 games under Kovac, scoring 14 goals directly, forming Monaco's dream attacking line with Ben Yeder, Flanders and Gerson Martins.
In addition, under Kovac's rule, young talents such as Joan Ameni, Diop, Fofana, and Matazo have all played far beyond expectations.
As the big brother, Fabregas, Jovitich and others also play a pivotal role in the team. In addition to shining on the field, they also mingled with young people off the field. Golovin once confessed in an interview that the atmosphere in monaco's dressing room is quite harmonious, all of which are inseparable from Kovac.
Irrefutably, Kovac has left a fascinating journey in Monaco. I wish the "Scientist" all the best for the rest of his journey and the doors of The Ligue 1 arena are always open to you.