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Wolfsburg’s Kovac Returns to Bayern Munich with a Point to Prove

Pointing the way: Niko Kovac guided Wolfsburg to a 2-2 draw with Bremen in his first Bundesliga game in charge and now leads them to Munich Ronny Hartmann AFP
Pointing the way: Niko Kovac guided Wolfsburg to a 2-2 draw with Bremen in his first Bundesliga game in charge and now leads them to Munich Ronny Hartmann AFP
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Wolfsburg’s Kovac Returns to Bayern Munich with a Point to Prove

Pointing the way: Niko Kovac guided Wolfsburg to a 2-2 draw with Bremen in his first Bundesliga game in charge and now leads them to Munich Ronny Hartmann AFP
Pointing the way: Niko Kovac guided Wolfsburg to a 2-2 draw with Bremen in his first Bundesliga game in charge and now leads them to Munich Ronny Hartmann AFP

When new Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac makes his return to the Allianz Arena to take on Bayern this Sunday, he is unlikely to receive the warm welcome former double winners would usually be afforded.

Kovac coached Bayern to a Bundesliga and German Cup double in 2018-19, but was forced out of the club midway through 2019-20 with his side fourth after a 5-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, AFP said.

He was replaced by former mentor and current Germany manager Hansi Flick who guided Bayern to an eighth straight Bundesliga title as well as the 2020 Champions League

Now coached by Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern romped to a 6-1 opening day win over Frankfurt and again look among the best teams in Europe.

Wolfsburg opened their season with a 2-2 home draw against promoted Werder Bremen.

Kovac's road back to the Allianz has been rockier, although he has at times demonstrated the quality that attracted Bayern in the first place.

In an 18-month spell in Ligue 1, he took Monaco from relegation candidates to a chance at winning the title on the final matchday of the 2020-21 season, beating Paris Saint-German twice along the way.

Although he was sacked early in the following season after a disappointing exit from the Champions League qualifying rounds, every member of Monaco's young side improved under Kovac, something Wolves fans will hope he emulates in Lower Saxony.

Kovac said on Thursday his side "will have our chances (against Bayern), although there certainly won't be too many".

He encouraged his team to keep focused even if they fall behind against the 31-time German champions.

"If you fall apart against Bayern, it will be hefty. But we have ideas to withstand the Bayern pressing" he told Germany's SID.

With 11 goals in two competitive games since Robert Lewandowski's departure Bayern are far from enduring a goal drought.

Speaking about his side's potency without the Polish striker so far in 2022-23, Nagelsmann told Bild "it's been interesting for us to see how we can do it without Lewandowski."

"The successes with Lewandowski are in the past, this team is the future."

- One to watch: Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund) -New Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck, 22, returns to former club Freiburg on Friday, where he made 56 appearances and was named man of the match in their 2-1 home win over Dortmund last season.

Dortmund's leaky defense has held them back in recent years – they conceded more goals than any other team in the top eight of the Bundesliga last year despite finishing second – but they've kept two clean sheets in two games with Schlotterbeck.

Schlotterbeck has also demonstrated the toughness Dortmund has lacked, playing on in his side's 1-0 win over Leverkusen on Saturday despite dislocating his shoulder.

In a midweek appearance on German TV, he endeared himself to Dortmund fans by throwing some shade at derby rivals Schalke. With presenters discussing the weekend's 'top game' between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Schalke, he asked "they have top games at Schalke?"

Key statsZero from 25 – Wolfsburg have played 25 times at Bayern and have lost 23 times, with two draws. No Bundesliga team has played so many away games against one opponent without managing to win at least once.

60 percent – Werder Bremen forwards Niclas Fuellkrug and Marvin Ducksch scored 39 of their side's 65 goals in the Bundesliga 2 in 2021-22, assisting each other on ten occasions. Fuellkrug already has one goal and Ducksch one assist from one game in 2022-23.

90 goals in 156 appearances – That's Timo Werner's goalscoring record at Leipzig (he's also contributed 40 assists), making him their all-time top scorer. Werner returned from Chelsea on a permanent deal this week and is on track to play against Cologne on Saturday.

Fixtures (all times 1330 GMT unless stated)Friday

SC Freiburg v Borussia Dortmund (1830)

Saturday

Hoffenheim v VfL Bochum, Werder Bremen v VfB Stuttgart, RB Leipzig v Cologne, Bayer Leverkusen v Augsburg, Hertha v Eintracht Frankfurt (1330), Schalke v Borussia Moenchengladbach (1630)

Sunday

Mainz v Union Berlin (1330), Bayern v Wolfsburg (1530)

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Move over Messi and Ronaldo. A New Generation of Soccer Stars Is Lining up to Win the Ballon d'Or

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)
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Move over Messi and Ronaldo. A New Generation of Soccer Stars Is Lining up to Win the Ballon d'Or

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior looks on during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, in Madrid, Spain, 22 October 2024. (EPA)

No Lionel Messi. No Cristiano Ronaldo.

When the Ballon d'Or is presented at a gala ceremony in Paris on Monday, it will feel like the start of a new era in football. There is also a sense of void now that one of sport's most engrossing rivalries is likely over.

"It's interesting that as it starts to come to an end, we are sort of saying, what's the next equivalent rivalry going to be," soccer author Jonathan Wilson told The Associated Press. "As if that kind of rivalry was a natural state. But there's never been a rivalry like that before."

Messi and Ronaldo won football's most prestigious individual award a combined 13 times over a 16-year period of unprecedented dominance. Neither has been nominated this year.

Instead, Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior is the favorite to be crowned the world's best player and become the first winner born this century.

He underlined his credentials this week with a stunning Champions League hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund.

"Vinicius had an incredible season where he was a key player... he proved he's the best player in the world," Madrid teammate Lucas Vazquez said.

But rather than Vinicius spearheading a new era of dominance, it seems likely the award will revert to a time before Messi and Ronaldo when multiple winners were relatively rare.

France great Zinedine Zidane, for instance, only won it once. The same goes for Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Luis Figo and George Best. Originally limited to European players, it was never won by Pele or Diego Maradona.

Before Messi, the last player to win back-to-back awards was Dutch striker Marco van Basten in 1988 and '89.

Messi won a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or last year after leading Argentina to triumph at the World Cup in 2022. Wilson, who wrote about the history of Argentinian football in his book "Angels With Dirty Faces," sees no obvious successor to the Barcelona great, now at Inter Miami.

"Messi's been phenomenal for 17, 18 years," he said. "It's not a pure tallying process, but in terms of greatness over a protracted period, Messi is the greatest there has ever been by quite some margin.

"I don't think there's anybody in the world now who has anything remotely close to that talent."

Such was the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo, not only would Vinicius Junior become the first winner born this century, but there has never even been a recipient born in the '90s.

Vinicius Junior, whose goals helped Madrid to a record-extending 15th European Cup last season, is part of a new generation of stars that are flourishing as Messi and Ronaldo reach the final stages of their careers.

Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal make up a field of contenders who could challenge for years to come.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri is second favorite to win this year and would become the first player born in the '90s to take the award.

Mbappe, who has long-been seen as the heir to Messi and Ronaldo as the world's best player, was born in 1998, meaning it's likely there will eventually be a winner from that decade even if Rodri misses out.

The only other winners since Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008 were Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022. Both were born in the 1980s.

The award was cancelled in 2020, when Robert Lewandowski was widely regarded the best player that year. He was also born in the '80s.

Neymar, born in 1992, came third on two occasions.

The Ballon d'Or was created by France Football magazine and has been awarded since 1956. It is voted for by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.

Each journalist, one per country, selects 10 players in ranked order, with points attributed to each position. The winner is the player who receives the most points.

The dominance of Messi and Ronaldo in the age of social media has heightened the profile of the award.

Players talk of their dream to win it in a manner they may have spoken about the Champions League and World Cup in the past.

The potential to win it is used during transfer negotiations, with clauses added to contracts stipulating a buying club will pay extra costs if a player goes on to be crowned the best player in the world.

While Vinicius appears to be in pole position this year, Mbappe vs. Haaland has the potential to develop into a new rivalry for the award — particularly given they are strikers for Madrid and Manchester City, respectively, the two best teams in Europe in recent years.

"That whole idea of rivalries and sort of head-to-head, one-v-ones is just such a big part of football now," soccer author Matt Oldfield told The Associated Press. "People want to be able to simplify it to one-v-one, and I think the Mbappe-Haaland debate will be the leading one."

Oldfield writes children's books about football and on visits to schools he gauges the popularity of players among young fans.

His latest series is called "The Football GOAT (greatest of all time)."

The first book in the series centered around Messi and Ronaldo. The next is about Mbappe and Haaland: "We're kind of moving beyond Messi and Ronaldo now," he said.