Flick, Wenger or Jose: Where do Bayern Munich go next?

Bayern Munich are currently looking for their fourth manager since 2017 following the departure of Croatian Niko Kovac after the 5-1 defeat to his former club Eintracht Frankfurt recently.

Kovac fell on the sword after a poor start to the season by Bayern’s standards, which had left the Bavarians fourth in the table at the time of his dismissal, albeit just four points off the top of the table.

The 48-year old last season became the first person to win the league and cup double with Bayern as a player and a coach, and masterminded the 7-2 thumping of Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League in October.

“The performance of our in recent weeks and the results have shown that there was a need for action,” Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in a statement following Kovac’s dismissal.

Since then, Bayern have won their last two games, including an emphatic 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, thanks to two goals from Robert Lewandowski, in ‘Der Klassiker’ last Saturday. They have moved up to third in the Bundesliga table, still four points behind league leaders Borussia Monchengladbach.

So, maybe the 29-times German champions aren’t in a state of crisis as many would have you believe, but a decision does need to be made in the coming weeks so which way will they go?

We’ve run the rule over the frontrunners for the vacant position at the Allianz Stadium.

HANSI FLICK

The architect of that rampant win over Dortmund was Hansi Flick, or Hans-Dieter Flick, who has been in caretaker charge since the sacking of Kovac on November 4.

Flick made over 100 appearances for the club between 1985 and 1990 before earning his stripes as the assistant to Joachim Loew for the German national team between 2006 and 2014.

The 54-year old is now the favourite to get the job, at least until the end of the season, if Bayern decide to wait to see if any of their options who are currently employed will jump ship.

“You can see Hanis Flick gets along well with the team,” said Bayern’s president Uli Hoeness after the win over Dortmund.

“I’m convinced we won’t rush and I think Hansi will be the first person we speak to in the upcoming weeks,” Rummenigge seemed to be impressed by the interim coach’s work in recent weeks as well.

You can get Flick at at 1.32* to become the next Bayern Munich manager.

ARSENE WENGER

The Frenchman has been without a managerial job since leaving his two-decade long stint as Arsenal manager in 2018, although we have been reminded about his ideals of the game in his punditry work since.

Wenger, now 70, still appears to have the energy to get back into management and there have been a lot of noises about him filling this vacant position since Kovac’s departure.

Sky in Germany suggested that the former Arsenal manager had held discussions with Rummenigge in the past week and there have been conflicting reports coming out since about whether that will lead to Wenger taking over at the Allianz.

Although the former Monaco manager’s reign at the Emirates didn’t end in glory, it can never be forgotten the way Wenger revolutionised football in England while also winning three Premier League titles for the North London outfit.

Wenger has reportedly turned down roles at Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain during his sabbatical, but could the chance to reshape Bayern Munich be too good to turn down?

WENGER TO BECOME THE NEW BAYERN MANAGER – 5.00*

JOSE MOURINHO

Jose was never going to be off our screens and out of our minds for long, was he?

The former Manchester United manager has been keeping himself busy by making every discussion on Sky Sports’ Super Sunday coverage awkward in his role as pundit.

Mourinho has been out of a managerial job since being dismissed at Old Trafford last December, and has made no secret of his ambitions to get back into football management in the near future.

Out of this world 👽@lewy_official #FCBBVB pic.twitter.com/vPgeWHwt29

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) November 12, 2019

The 56-year old has gone on record to say he intends to return to the Premier League in his next role to win ‘a title with a third Premier League club’ but surely the chance to take over at Bayern Munich will be too good to turn down.

A chance to revitalise one of the giants of European football will surely be tapping into the ego of the Portuguese man and with the complex nature of the hierarchy at the Allianz, this pairing can only produce fireworks. This is something we should all get behind.

Mourinho has won leagues in Portugal, Italy, Spain and England which also bringing home the Champions League for Porto and Inter Milan. There is no doubting his pedigree but his reputation has taken a hit due to his perhaps unwelcoming and unfriendly man-management style.

This would be the most fascinating move but don’t count on it happening.