Bundesliga 2024-25: Dortmund has quality to turn season around, says new coach Kovac

Bundesliga 2024-25: Dortmund has quality to turn season around, says new coach Kovac

Borussia Dortmund’s three-game run under interim coach Mike Tullberg with two wins and a draw across all competitions showed the team had the quality to turn its season around, new coach Niko Kovac said on Tuesday.

Kovac took over on Sunday, succeeding Nuri Sahin who was sacked on January 22 following a four-game losing run.

Interim coach Tullberg had taken over for three matches with the team earning a draw and a win in the Bundesliga as well as a victory in the Champions League over Shakhtar Donetsk to end their losing streak.

“What has been positive is the last three games. You could see that the team has the necessary quality. For me, the team is really good,” Kovac told a press conference.

“There is a lot that has to do with self-confidence. Yes, there was a phase recently where things did not go well but the last three games were great. Mike really did it well and we all thank him for that.”

Dortmund, last season’s Champions League finalists, are in 11th spot in the Bundesliga and are at risk of missing out on a place in next season’s premier European club competition.

After hosting VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, the Ruhr Valley club face Sporting in the Champions League playoff next week for a spot in the last 16.

“The players have seen how sweet it is to win,” Kovac said of their matches under Tullberg. “Wins are the ones that lift your confidence. You need that as a player and what was is no longer important. What is and what will be is the most important thing.

“We are in 11th place and we next have a big game at home against Stuttgart. We want to win it to take that next step forward. To bring Dortmund back where they belong, which is the top,” he added.

Kovac, who led Bayern Munich to a league and Cup double in 2018-19, has also managed Eintracht Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga while the Berlin native had a stint with Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.

“Clearly this is not an ideal situation but you cannot always expect to have a summer pre-season preparation or winter preparation,” Kovac said. “We will not invent everything again. The players know a lot of things already. It is about giving them this confidence because every player needs it.”