Niko Kovac at Borussia Dortmund – directly into the ice -cold water

It would be exaggerated to say that the coach Niko Kovac will take over a care case with the suffering football team from Borussia Dortmund. However, one could have got this impression after two dark diagnoses by Matthias Sammer and Emre Can. The BVB consultant Sammer had certified the team two weeks ago, and Captain Can also went one step further on this unsightening judgment on Saturday when he said that the team was “a bit dead”.

Kovac could not confirm this critical condition on Tuesday after his first training session. “Today the players often had a smile on their face,” said Kovac at his official performance. Kovac also attributed the good mood of the team to what the interim coach Mike Tullberg might have caused by his extrovert emotions among the players. “That was great,” said Kovac about Tullberg’s outbursts and hoped that the recent results (two victories, a draw) triggered new confidence among the players. “A lot stands and falls with self -confidence,” said Kovac, “and the boys felt again how nice it is to win.”

Kovac can integrate two last minute accesses into the squad

In Dortmund, they now hope that the players will not pass the smile again so quickly. “The current level of the table absolutely does not correspond to our claim,” said sports director Sebastian Kehl, but nobody strikes the battered team from the management because it would not have a positive effect. “We still see great potential this season,” said Kehl, and thus found approval at Kovac, who draws his confidence from the skills of this team. Kovac reported that he saw “a team with great football skills and great individual quality, which has not yet accessed everything.” As far as the goals are concerned, the new coach was covered: “Our claim is to get the maximum out.”

The head of sports Ricken hopes for a “catch -up”, but also admitted that it would be “not fair to only make Niko’s work in a table at the end of the season; We want maximum success, but the way we appear also counts. ”Ricken revealed the predominant topic in Kovac’s first training session,“ that was just offensive ”. A signal to all skeptics.

The coach Kovac could even title: in 2018 he won the DFB Cup with Eintracht Frankfurt, a year later he won the double from the championship and trophy with Bayern Munich. Dortmund’s last title win was the trophy in 2021, and the club lost the Champions League final against Real Madrid nine months ago. At the moment, a title is not necessarily what this team needs. It requires stability and success as well as a place among the top four in the Bundesliga within three months. BVB is currently in eleven in the table, but the gap to fourth -placed RB Leipzig is only four points. A lot still appears possible in both the Bundesliga and in the Champions League, but the team has to change their attitude permanently. It hadn’t worked under Nuri Sahin.

That is why the club had separated from Sahin two weeks ago, 36. Since then, the team, 39, has looked after the team in three games. Then on Sunday Kovac took over responsibility. If you consider that until the end of last season the coach was still called Edin Terzic, 42, BVB comes to four coaches within nine months.

The team now needs “passion and courage”, said Ricken, and for this purpose, one trusts “external input and an experienced trainer.” Sports director Kehl said about Kovac: “Niko has a clear understanding of values ​​and demands clear virtues.” But alone it won’t succeed either.

Dortmund used the alternating period to the end on Monday, but initially only two for BVB: from FC Nordsjaelland from Norway, the Swedish left -back Daniel Svensson, 22, and from Chelsea from London, the English midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka comes from London , 21. Both are borrowed first, BVB has a purchase option for both (Svensson estimated seven million euros, Chukwuemeka estimated 35 million). The goalkeeper Diant Ramaj, 23. Because the Stuttgart native was fetched as the successor to the goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, was firmly committed for five million euros from Ajax Amsterdam, he was initially given to the Danish leader FC Copenhagen until the end of the season.

The first challenge for Kovac: VfB Stuttgart is the next Saturday. It is inevitably and inevitably about the connection to the European Cup places that are so important for Dortmund. Three days later, the Borussians are guest in the Champions League playoff first leg at Sporting Lisbon. In the second leg a week later it is about moving into the round of 16, where Aston Villa or OSC Lille would be the opponent in early March. On February 15th there is still a derby in Bochum. So Kovac does not get some familiarization time. It plunges into the ice -cold water. “It is clear that this is not optimal,” said Kovac, “but the jumping point is: you don’t have to do too much, we don’t have to reinvent everything – the players need confidence.”