A team that failed to survive the semifinal of the Champions League in three consecutive years has turned into a beacon of stability and balance. The 2018/2019 Bayern team seems to have developed into a serious candidate to win this season's Champions League.

Real Madrid without Cristiano Ronaldo is not the Real Madrid of old when the Spanish giants won football's most important club competition three times in a row. "They are still a strong contender," Kovac commented.

But things might have changed. "In the last three years, Real only managed to win the Spanish championship once. That shows how hard it is to win all titles," the former midfielder emphasized.

Real will still play a significant role, but Kovac seems to favor other teams to succeed this season. Talking about this season's favorites, Kovac is more the traditionalist mentioning Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Paris St Germain, Juventus, several English clubs and Bayern.

Currently, Kovac is concerned about the early season injuries to three of Bayern's key performers Corentin Tolisso, Kingsley Coman and Rafinha.

"But we accept that and take our group against Lisbon [Benfica], Ajax Amsterdam, and AEK Athens very seriously."

Kovac has developed self-confidence after his first weeks at Bayern. Having found the right balance between the side's attacking power and the joint effort to defend and close spaces. "When we stick to that we are tough to beat. Opponents won't create many chances or score goals," Kovac stressed.

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