Borussia Dortmund fulfilled their biggest need – the head coach. The famous German club appointed former Bayern Munich player and coach Niko Kovač as the new boss, but he will take over after today’s game with Heidenheim. BVB executives were so delighted with former coach Nuri Sahin, that when things went wrong, they didn’t negotiate with any other coach behind his back so when they finally sacked him, the search was long and not so successful. Nobody from the A list wanted to take the team now, in January, but rather in June (Roger Schmidt, Ralf Rangnick), so they went to Niko Kovač, who also didn’t want to be an interim coach, and asked for a longer contract. Since they couldn’t find anyone else, they had to agree with this, so the Croatian coach has signed a contract until June 2026.Welcome, Niko! ✍️ Borussia Dortmund has appointed Niko Kovač as their new head coach. The 53-year-old, born in Berlin, has signed a contract with BVB until June 30, 2026, and will officially take charge next Sunday after the club’s Bundesliga match against Heidenheim. pic.twitter.com/O6hPBoCxn2— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) January 30, 2025 What will he bring to Dortmund? He coached in Bundesliga so he has no problem adapting to the style of play. The current team lacks dicipline and fitness and that’s what Kovač is famous for. But on the flip side, apart from Frankfurt, he was sacked from all other clubs (Bayern Munich, Monaco, Wolfsburg) due to poor results and frictions with the team stars. Sports director Lars Ricken and club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke were in the front of this hire and if something goes wrong, they will be under serious fire, since under their watch, Edin Terzić resigned and Nuri Sahin was sacked. The BVB bosses also had to ‘sweeten’ the deal with Kovač who, according to Bild, will get additional 750.000 euros if he managed to secure a Champions League place at the end of the season. He will also earn more than Sahin, who’s yearly salary was 2.5 million while the Croat will have one million more.Former Man United coach to take over sorry Dortmund?Since the transfer window will closes on January 3rd, the club needs to buy more players and Kovač will now have to agree to deal done by the club’s sporting director, or to stop them, if he doesn’t like the proposed deal. Bild writes that Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, the versatile attacking midfielder is their main target and Kovač needs to decide on him quickly. He scored five goals in 24 competitive matches for Olympique Lyon this season and provided the assists for eight more. Due to the poor form of Julian Brandt and Marcel Sabitzer and the injured Felix Nmecha, the need in midfield is a pressing one, but his price (around 30 million) is also a potential problem. Niko Kovač’s first decision will be today or tomorrow.BUNDESLIGA – MATCHDAY 20Friday Werder – Mainz 1-0 (1-0)/Bittencourt 14/Saturday 17.30: (1.05) Bayern (14.0) Holstein Kiel (35.0)17.30: (2.85) Bochum (3.35) Freiburg (2.50)17.30: (4.50) Heidenheim (4.00) Dortmund (1.80)17.30: (2.40) St.Pauli (3.20) Augsburg (3.35)17.30: (1.57) Stuttgart (4.10) M’ gladbach (5.80)20.30: (3.10) Union Berlin (3.40) RB Leipzig (2.30)Sunday 17.30: (1.95) Eintr.Frankfurt (4.00) Wolfsburg (3.75)19.30: (1.23) Leverkusen (6.50) Hoffenheim (12.0)***odds are subject to change***
