Since Niko Kovac made his debut as BVB coach against VfB Stuttgart a good nine months ago, Borussia Dortmund has stabilized again. Before the reunion on Saturday (3:30 p.m. live in the audio stream and then in the sports show) with feared opponents VfB, there are not only positive voices.
As eleventh in the table, BVB received fifth-placed VfB Stuttgart on matchday 21 in February 2025. At the end of Kovac’s debut, after an own goal by ex-Stuttgart player Waldemar Anton and a momentous loss of the ball by also ex-Stuttgart player Serhou Guirassy, there was a 1-2 defeat on the scoreboard.
Best points average since Tuchel – still criticism of Kovac
But this false start ultimately turned out to be in no way a continuation of the black-yellow crisis. Nine months later, Kovac stabilized Dortmund, led them into the premier class at the end of the season and into the top four again this season. Before the new duel with VfB, there is at least some unrest in the Dortmund fan camp again. And that despite the fact that Borussia, third in the table, hosts fourth in the table with only one defeat this season.
Niko Kovac on his coaching debut for BVB on February 8, 2025 against VfB Stuttgart.
After an excellent start to the season, Dortmund have obviously lost some of their play recently. Guirassy and Co. had scored at least three goals in a game five times in the first eleven competitive games of this season, but in the last five games the Borussia team only managed exactly one goal in regular time.
The fact that there were three wins, one draw and one defeat is due to Dortmund’s stable defense, on which Kovac’s success at BVB is undoubtedly based. Of all the coaches who have played more than three games in the Dortmund dugout, Kovac currently has the best points average since Thomas Tuchel (2.12) with 2.02, and for another better one you have to look back several decades.
Kovac relies on the Sahin squad – and makes it better
The 1:1 on matchday 10 against HSV, in which Borussia only conceded the equalizer in stoppage time, and the 1:4 against Manchester Cityin which they really had no chance for the only time this season, represent the longest winless streak in Kovac’s 41 competitive games in office.
Kovac achieved all of this with a team that hardly differed in terms of personnel compared to the completely desolate aegis of his predecessor Nuri Sahins. Of the eleven starting eleven players on his debut, only the emigrated Jamie Gittens is not playing regularly for BVB this season: apart from the long-injured Emre Can and Gittens, the other nine players who were called up from the start made at least twelve appearances this season.
High intensity and Away game series cause fatigue
This may also be due to not entirely optimal squad planning, but it is, above all, a credit to the Croatian. Karim Adeyemi reported very graphically in May that Kovac had kicked the team in the butt. And in fact there is no longer any talk of the “morality question”, which was extremely reluctant to be asked at BVB in previous years. The team plays in a disciplined manner, never gives up and is in top shape: only TSG Hoffenheim has more so-called “intensive runs” this Bundesliga season, i.e. runs over 15 km/h, than Dortmund, which is active in three competitions.
Coach Niko Kovac got BVB fit
No wonder that Dortmund seemed a bit tired before the international break. Kovac football, which has also been the case in his previous positions, is based on intensity, discipline and work against the ball. When there are seven games within three weeks, of which six (!) are away, it leaves physical marks. Even with fit teams. The fact that in the end only two of these seven games were lost (against Bayern Munich and Manchester City) and four were won is actually all the more remarkable.
Hardly any successful dribbling and recently hardly any chances to score
However, the fans’ criticism mainly relates to the lack of esprit in the attacking game. An accusation that Kovac has not had to hear for the first time at his stations. The passing rates of his team are correct and Dortmund have the fourth most possession of the ball of all Bundesliga clubs, but there hasn’t been enough in terms of creating chances, especially recently.
This may be due to fatigue or a lack of offensive squad quality in one-on-one situations, no Dortmund attacker appears in the top positions in any dribbling statistics, but even beyond that, BVB has recently had visibly problems creating chances against defensive opponents. Except for the late loss of a point against HSV, this had little impact in terms of points.
Year-end spurt as Location determination
After the international break, Dortmund’s program continues to be tight: with Stuttgart, Villarreal, twice Leverkusen (first league, then cup), Hoffenheim, Bodö Glimt, SC Freiburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach, the end of the year spurt is definitely crisp. Of these eight games still to be played in 2025, BVB will be allowed to play six in their own stadium.
The end-of-year spurt is a real assessment of where we stand for the Dortmund team, the fans and their coach. And it begins with a home game against a “dreaded opponent” against whom Borussia have lost the last five competitive games, but against whom one of the most successful coaching periods in the club’s history in terms of points began nine months ago.