There is optimism at Borussia Dortmund once more. A brand new season upon the German giants and the sense of a crew not simply rebuilding however recapturing one thing misplaced. “Overall, we are mixing a good team,” explains head coach Niko Kovac at the membership’s coaching floor.
“Four players left. We bought some new talented players and also one experienced player. So we kept the spine, the experienced players, the goalkeeper, the centre-back, the midfielder. And now we are trying to create the BVB, I would say, from the past.”
That means the kind of abilities who can thrill the followers packed onto that Yellow Wall, these in a position to play the rock-and-roll soccer that has outlined Dortmund since the days of Jurgen Klopp. More counter-pressing, much less management. Football with a bit extra feeling.
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Dortmund had drifted away from this core precept. The focus shifted to older signings. It was seen as an try to defend their place, prioritising the want to play it protected in an try to assure Champions League qualification. Not very Dortmund.
The skilled participant Kovac refers to is Joey Veerman, a 27-year-old midfielder from PSV Eindhoven. But it’s the acquisition of two Greek wingers, the eye-catching Giannis Konstantelias and the 18-year-old prospect Konstantin Karetsas, that has followers speaking.
In the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, the ambiance inside Signal Iduna Park ignited when Konstantelias got here on for the second half and began operating at Bayern Munich’s defence. Dortmund have been desperately shut to turning round a two-goal deficit.
Speaking to Julian Ryerson afterwards about his new teammates, the skilled Norwegian stated: “It looks positive, yeah. We also had some good players last year but I hope it takes us to a new level, of course. I hope and I think that we are on a good path.”
It is not going to be simple. Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt have been confirmed in the Dortmund black and yellow. They are gone now. “We need to replace these goals, it is clear,” says Kovac. “Of course, when you buy new players, you never know if it is going to work or not.”
But maybe that is half of the thrill. Dortmund are daring to dream, playing on the potential, hoping for extra under new sporting director Ole Book. “Expectations are high because, especially the offensive players, the two Greek ones, they have big talent.”
Giannis Konstantelias was a vivid spark in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup
Is Kovac the man to coax out that expertise? He is a confirmed winner however one who has one thing of a fame for prioritising perspiration over inspiration so it is going to be fascinating to see whether or not he can present the framework for these children to thrive.
What is Niko Kovac soccer? When that query is put to the man himself, he admits it’s one thing that he as soon as requested a good friend. His reply? Successful soccer. It is a good level. Kovac gained the cup with Eintracht Frankfurt after which the double with Bayern Munich.
But he is aware of that his explicit model is usually seen as restricted in contrast to his extra celebrated friends. Kovac has dabbled with inverting his wing-backs of late however his tactical tweaks are much less seemingly to be pored over than these of Bayern’s Vincent Kompany.
“If someone likes my style, this is up to you. For me, we are successful. And I think that, together, since we arrived, we did a very good job. As a coach, I think you need to see what kind of players you have, what situation you have, and you must always adapt.”
Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac (Photo by Vera Loitzsch/Bundesliga by way of Getty Images)
That is precisely what Kovac did when he joined Dortmund in late January of 2025 with the membership in a deadly place in the fallacious half of the Bundesliga desk. The crew had fully misplaced its identification and appeared in disarray, European qualification a protracted shot.
Speaking to Carsten Cramer about this, Dortmund’s chief government is clearly nonetheless grateful. “Imagine what happened when we hired him one-and-a-half years ago. We were in regions we never should be and he brought us to the Champions League.”
Cramer provides: “He is committed. He loves to work for the club. Black and yellow fits him, I would say, much better than the red and white [of Bayern] or the green and white [of Wolfsburg]. I am 100 per cent sure that he is the right man at the right moment.”
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Watch highlights of the Emirates Cup win over Arsenal (Pictures: Arsenal FC)
The credit score that Kovac has in the financial institution is completely deserved. “I arrived in a bad situation,” he says. He modified issues. “The squad was planned with a back four, but after two or three games we saw it was not working so we changed into the back five.”
He provides: “This was from the tactical perspective. What was also obvious was that the physical capacities, how I see football, how I see a fully fit player, was not there. So we worked on this. With those physical abilities you’re immediately a better football player.”
His reasoning is that via improved health, the choices on the pitch grow to be simpler. “Without those physical abilities, you are calculating. Should I run backwards? Should I run forward? Should I defend? Should I attack?” If you are fitter, you simply do it.
“This was a little bit tricky because when it is not working players always fall into the same old habits, so it took a little bit of time. But we finished fourth.” From there, Dortmund had a platform and they used it to end in second spot once more final season.
The hole to Bayern ended up being 25 factors at the finish of his first season. It lowered to 16 factors final time round. When it’s framed like this, a title problem nonetheless feels a way off. “To close this gap, a lot must happen.” Dortmund should play above themselves.
“It is also important that Bayern Munich is not playing top,” he concedes. The frustration in the latest past is that probabilities have come and never been taken. They tossed a title away on the remaining day in 2023 and noticed Bayer Leverkusen finish Bayern’s streak in 2024.
But the hope – all the time the hope – is that the fusion of his self-discipline with the excessive ceiling of the new expertise means there are prospects as soon as extra. Can they do it? “I do not like to speak first and then work,” says Kovac, smiling. “I think the opposite way is better.”