Mourinho would bring glamour to Bayern – Ballack

Jose Mourinho taking over Bayern Munich would bring “a certain glamour” to the club and the Bundesliga, says Michael Ballack. 

Head coach Niko Kovac has endured a difficult first season at the Allianz Arena, with Borussia Dortmund providing Bayern with a much sterner test in the Bundesliga and Liverpool eliminating them from the Champions League last 16. 

The Bavarian giants’ hopes of winning the league for a seventh successive year were boosted by a resounding 5-0 victory over Dortmund on April 6, though executive board chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was unwilling to guarantee Kovac’s future at the club in the aftermath. 

Should Bayern decide to make a new appointment Ballack believes Mourinho, who he played under at Chelsea and has been unemployed since being sacked by Manchester United in December, would be the ideal candidate. 

The Portuguese has also been linked with Inter and Lyon and said last week he hopes Kovac stays on, but former Bayern midfielder Ballack thinks he can bring an impetus that Germany has not seen since Pep Guardiola arrived in 2013. 

“Niko Kovac is the coach at the moment and that should be respected. He is doing a good job. [But] one cannot deny that at some point in the future a commitment from Mourinho would bring a certain glamour to the club and the Bundesliga,” Ballack told Sport Bild. 

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“It was seen with Pep Guardiola – the Bundesliga received a giant jolt, even if he did not win the Champions League with Bayern. 

“Guardiola introduced a certain style of play. He’s an exceptional coach. In addition, the international profile of any club is multiplied when you get Guardiola or Mourinho. 

“It’s probably easier for a club to get top stars [with Mourinho]. The Bundesliga doesn’t have the same appeal as the Premier League for world-class players at the moment.” 

Mourinho holds Bayern in high regard, according to Ballack, who discussed the club with the manager during their time at Chelsea. 

“He spoke about the club in glowing terms. And Bayern have regularly had top foreign coaches: Giovanni Trapattoni, Louis van Gaal, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti,” added Ballack.