Berlin – Six months ago it looked highly possible that Niko
Kovac would be sacked by Bayern Munich. Fast forward to May and the
coach needs a win at RB Leipzig on Saturday to secure the Bundesliga
title.
With a four-point advantage over Borussia Dortmund with two to play,
Bayern have the luxury of knowing that their destiny is still in
their own hands even if they lose at Ralf Rangnick's dangerous side.
Kovac can also look forward to a German Cup final against the same
club on on May 25 but it could all have been very different if
Bayern's bosses had lost patience after a stuttering start to Kovac's
first term in charge.
Dortmund seemed to be running away with the league at the end of last
year and Bayern had not convinced in the Champions League group
stages either. But rather than panic, both Bayern and Kovac kept the
faith and slowly they reeled Dortmund in even if there were bumps
along the away.
A poor home defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League last 16 put
the pressure back on Kovac and comments from club chief executive
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge have suggested he is not totally happy with the
coach.
This week he defended himself but it shows what high standards Bayern
have when anything less than a seventh straight Bundesliga title is
viewed as failure.
"I have only ever said that at Bayern you have to deliver,"
Rummenigge told reporters of Kovac. "It is all about having a winning
mentality at Bayern. That is necessary."
Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben will hope to be involved in Leipzig as
time ticks down before their departures from Bayern at the end of the
season.
Fellow injury-prone player Manuel Neuer hopes to return in goal but
Javi Martinez, the midfield workhorse so key to Bayern's play, is a
doubt with a leg injury
"I have no idea if I will be fit for Saturday," the Spanish
international told Bild.
Leipzig will be no pushovers despite already wrapping up Champions
League qualification. They could still overhaul wilting Dortmund in
second.
Striker Timo Werner has been heavily linked in the media with a move
to Bayern in the close season while the last home game of the
campaign is also special for Rangnick, who reverts to being sporting
director when Hoffenheim's Julian Nagelsmann joins as coach in July.
He wants to lay down a marker against Bayern for the Cup final rather
than just solely delay their title celebrations for a week.
"We dont want to beat Bayern just to annoy them, we want to do it for
ourselves," Rangnick said.
Dortmund, tabletoppers for so long in Lucien Favre's first season in
charge, lost and drew their last two games but host Fortuna
Dusseldorf hoping for a miracle Bayern collapse.
As it is the penultimate weekend of the season, all games kick off at
the same time at 1330 GMT on Saturday except for Eintracht Frankfurt
at home to Mainz.
Fourth-placed Frankfurt, Bayern's last home opponents on May 18, have
been given special dispensation to play on Sunday at 1600 GMT because
of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
It could be crucial with the fourth Champions League spot still very
much up for grabs after their astonishing 6-1 defeat at fifth-placed
Bayer Leverkusen last weekend.
At the bottom, Nuremberg and Hanover will be relegated unless they
can win at home to sixth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach and
Freiburg respectively. Even then they are both doomed if Stuttgart
beat Wolfsburg, although just draw for Stuttgart could keep Nuremberg
up for another week.