Niko Kovac's sacking is another instance of power struggle in Ligue 1
Niko Kovac has had a relatively successful spell at AS Monaco since joining the club last summer. Kovac guided the French outfit to a third-place finish in Ligue 1 last campaign, as well as a runners-up finish in the Coupe de France.
Even this season, at the time of his departure, Monaco were doing well at sixth in the table, just four points off third-placed OGC Nice.
Despite AS Monaco winning their last fixture in December against Rennes, Kovac was astonishingly dismissed from his position as head coach.
AS Monaco make Niko Kovač's sacking official - not a single word thanking him for his work in the press release.
Initial reports suggest players' mutiny
Such was the randomness of the decision that there was a growing belief that Kovac had lost his dressing room. Given that Monaco were playing well, the fallout is quite a plausible explanation. France24 also reported fallout between Kovac and club captain Wissam Ben Yedder.
Kovac singled out at Monaco
Unlike in Germany, where Bayern's results under Kovac were underwhelming, there was no evidence of the same in Ligue 1.
FC Bayern parts ways with Niko Kovac. https://t.co/xl0sjaZAqC
Monaco's recent results were not as bad as they seemed. Moreover, they were still in firm contention for a top-three finish at the time of his dismissal.
German tabloid Bild reported Kovac's fallout with AS Monaco's sporting director, Paul Mitchell, as being the core explanation for his sudden departure. At the start of the season, Mitchell brought in a new director of performance, James Bunce, to take over fitness training for the players.
Despite showing little hesistancy to Bunce's methodologies, Monaco's hectic schedule in France and Europe prompted Kovac to reject such ideas going ahead. Consequently, this went against Mitchell's long-term vision of the club. Given the closeness of the two former Tottenham employees, it was Kovac who was on the receiving end of the sacking.
A frequent occurence in French football
French football is no stranger to controversy.
The manager's fallout with the sporting director is now a regular phenomenon in French football. Earlier last year, Andre Villas-Boas decided to step down from Marseille's coaching role after a fallout with club president Jacques-Enri Eyraud over the signing of Oliver Ntcham. That decision was also quite surprising given how Villas-Boas had led Marseille to their first UCL appearance in seven years.
Kovac's case is just another instance of the same.
Stéphane Nado, who is the head coach of Monaco’s reserves, has taken over the first team for the time being.