Borussia Dortmund has shown the appointment of Niko Kovac as chief coach.
The Athletic reported on Wednesday Dortmund were set to appoint Kovac, with an agreement in place on a contract that will run through to 2026, and the club confirmed the news on Thursday.
He will take the team’s fee on Sunday, the day after his Bundesliga adjustment opposite Heidenheim.
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“The discussions with (CEO Sport) Lars Ricken were very constructive, the depth, clarity and familiarity appropriate for the situation,” Kovac said. “All who are guilty of BVB gave us a very intelligent feeling in conversations, so I am convinced that we can achieve a lot in combination in the future. “
Previously from Monaco, Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt, Kovac had been unemployed since his departure from Wolfsburg in March 2024.
The 53-year-old replaces Nuri Sahin, who fired Dortmund after a start without victories until 2025, ending in a 2-1 defeat against Bologna in the Champions League a week ago.
“We have had broad discussions with Niko Kovac for beyond a few days and we have taken intentionally to learn better and our expectations,” Rickn added. “Energy, determination and feeling of the importance of team spirit have distinguish Niko groups. “
Mike Tullberg, Dortmund’s under-19 coach, has been in temporary charge of the side since Sahin’s departure and will be on the touchline again for the Heidenheim fixture, with Kovac likely to take training for the first time on Sunday.
Kovac will be joined by his brother, Robert, his long-time assistant and by analyst Filip Tapalovic, and immediately faces a tough task. Dortmund secured their first win over the calendar year with a 3-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Dortmund are yet to win in the Bundesliga since the end of the winter break, sitting in 11th-placed in the league, 22 points behind leaders Bayern Munich, and six points adrift of fourth-placed Stuttgart, who occupy the final Champions League qualification place.
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Kovac feels like a good contrast to Sahin. The Croatian did not play for Dortmund and is not loyal to their house style, meaning that some fans will treat him with suspicion. Given the events of the past few years and how obviously the side needs fresh ideas, both of those actually feel like strengths. His football has always been based, first and foremost, on a rigid and dependable defence, and that will be his priority upon taking charge at the Westfalenstadion.
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Dortmund will have to balance more. They want to attack more responsibly and without allowing them to be exposed in the transition. Kovac, who is a much more experienced coach than Sahin or Edin Terzic, deserves to be able to make that improvement.
It will be attractive to see what happens. His time in Wolfsburg did not have a good time in Bayern Munich (2018-19), in which he fought to play a complete team of stars and EPAS, the mind will also be new, even if he won a double of Bundesliga-Pokal in Your first season.
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But it’s another scenario and Dortmund happens to want an express set of attriyetes, which Kovac probably has. It has a clever record on the progression of young players and the identity of their most productive roles. In Monaco, he remodelled Aurelien Tchouameni into a midfielder, helping him to move a hundred million euros to Real Madrid. In Wolfsburg, he repeated this excursion with Felix Nmecha, who should not have an injury for the next few months, however, who will now play at Dortmund. He also switched on Tottenham’s Micky Van der Ven from a backward retreat and exercised a young Omar Marmoush.
Does Dortmund have the clearness of taking the merit of this? Not probably, however, if Kovac can evolve some of the existing players, namely Jamie Gittens, Nmecha, Karim Adeyemi and Julen Duranville, while also institutes discipline, it can be an intelligent game.
(Images Marco Steinbrenner/Defodi Getty images)