Plenty of work to do for Bayern and coach Niko Kovac

Doha, Qatar: Bayern Munich are Doha for their annual winter training camp and this year things they have a lot more work to do as they prepare themselves for the second half of the season.

The German champions are, surprisingly, six points behind Bundesliga leaders and archrivals Borussia Dortmund, while they will be the underdogs when they take on Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League.

They have a young coach in Niko Kovac who was a surprise choice to replace Jupp Heynckes, but their real problem is too many of their players are past their prime.

Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, two of their superstars, are on their last legs while Javi Martinez, another top name, is not getting any younger. But it’s not just them, for Bayern have had underperforming players everywhere this season.

From Matt Hummels, who often make big mistakes and allows himself to be outpaced spectacularly by young forwards, to Jerome Boateng, who is happier on social media platforms than on a football pitch, Bayern have players whom the fans are not exactly thrilled with.

Kovac, who was facing the media for the first time in 2019, said they were looking for young players.

The five-time European champions signed 18-year old Alphonso Davies from Vancouver Whitecaps FC recently and is reportedly interested in another teenager, Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi.

“We always need new young players, it is my job and the job of Hasan Salihamidzic (Bayern Sporting Director) to change the team as the team does not get any younger.”

Bayern are a club that generally runs like a well-oiled machine off the field as well, but some of their recent transfer deals have not panned out as expected.

Talented Brazilian Douglas Costa, signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2015 struggled to make his mark and left for Juventus while young Renato Sanches, who came as a big money signing from Benfica, also flopped.

The Bavarians still have some of the best young players such as Joshua Kimmich, Niklas Süle and Serge Gnabry and a lot will depend on these players as they look to chase Dortmund in the Bundesliga.

Kovac said he was happy with the conditions in Doha, which he termed “fantastic” and would be concentrating more on possession game.

“Many of us have been here so we know the conditions are fantastic. We have everything we need considering the conditions in Germany,” said Kovac. “We only have six days here so we can’t focus on everything. We have to concentrate on our possession, because Bayern Munich obviously will have a lot of possession.

“We won't change our tactical system completely because that’s been fine so far. If anything needs to be changed tactically as the season evolves we can certainly do that since the team has played many different systems in the past.

James Rodriguez knee injury has been another of Bayern’s headache and Kovac was relieved that but the Colombian, on loan from Real Madrid, is back in training.

“I am happy James is free from injury he is completely healthy and the doctor has given him green light.  He trained yesterday and today and I expect top performances from him and everybody else. We need top players on a high level and top performances. James has shown what he is capable of here and at his previous clubs,” said Kovac.

When in his element, James is a game changer. And his form and, more importantly, his mood will have a lot of say in how Bayern are going to improve in the second half of the season.

The 47-year-old former Bayern midfielder said they need to do their homework so that they can put pressure on league leaders Dortmund.

“We need to show good performances collect good results and good points that’s how we want to increase the pressure on Dortmund.”

Kovac said they have plenty of time to think about the Liverpool match.

“Liverpool are a good team but we have plenty of time before the Champions League. First we need to improve our performances in the Bundesliga. We need to take the first step before thinking about the second.”