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According to German outlet Bild and British newspaper The Telegraph, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is interested in making a sensational return to coaching with Bayern Munich.
According to Bild, current manager Niko Kovač is approaching tomorrow’s Champions League clash with Benfica as a dead man walking. Kovač reportedly blasted his team for its defending during Saturday’s 3-3 draw at home to newly promoted Fortuna Düsseldorf, and he's informed the squad of his own uncertainties about the future.
The draw meant that of the club’s last eight league matches, only two have resulted in victories. Bayern sits fifth in the Bundesliga, nine points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.
“Those who know me know that I am always a fighter,” Kovač said. “My whole life has been to assert myself, giving up or waving the white flag does not exist in my vocabulary. I will always fight.
“Criticism is always there if you don’t live up to the expectations — we need one point tomorrow (against Benfica) to progress, but we want to win. And then we hope we’ll perform better in the Bundesliga than we have before.”
The club is sitting atop Champions League Group E with 10 points from four games, but with an aging core of players like Franck Ribery (35), Arjen Robben (34), Manuel Neuer (32), Robert Lewandowski (30), Jerome Boateng (30) and Javi Martinez (30), there seems to be a growing understanding in Bavaria that Kovač is not the right man to lead the revolution — that man is reportedly the 69-year-old Wenger.
Wenger has made no secret of his desire to return to management in the New Year, and although he’s ruled out a return to coaching in England, the Frenchman has revealed that he’s entertained offers from around the globe.
However, The Telegraph reports that “sources close to the 69-year-old claim Wenger is keen to return to management in a job that offers him the chance to end his career with silverware and compete at the top level. Bayern would give him that chance and Wenger would have no problem settling in, as German is one of the many languages he speaks fluently.”
Bayern has two more matches in the UCL and five more Bundesliga games before Germany’s winter break (which lasts from Dec. 22 through Jan. 18). There’s time for Kovač and Bayern to turn it around, but one more league defeat (or disaster in the UCL) could spell the end for the former Eintracht Frankfurt boss.
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