Niko Kovac and BVB - "True love" at second sight

When Niko Kovac was introduced as Nuri Sahin's successor at Borussia Dortmund, there was initially a lot of skepticism and then a weak start. The picture has now completely changed.

Borussia Dortmund and its coaches – since Jürgen Klopp, this has never been sustained as "true love," true to the club's slogan. Edin Terzic came closest to that. He stood in the south stand as a child and, in recent years, won the DFB Cup with BVB, almost won the league, and made it to the Champions League final. However, he wasn't enough for the club in the long run, and it was over for him after last season.

Thomas Tuchel, Peter Bosz, Peter Stöger, Lucien Favre, and Marco Rose were almost completely devoid of emotion, despite the successes some of them certainly enjoyed. Nuri Sahin, a former youth player and professional at Dortmund, was supposed to shape a new era and failed miserably. But his successor is currently accomplishing something many had thought impossible, which is why, at least for the moment, he's making hearts race at BVB.

When Niko Kovac was introduced as the new coach, there was more skepticism than optimism around the club – and even those in charge themselves didn't seem entirely convinced by the idea. Reports consistently suggested that the BVB bosses wanted to keep the collaboration as short-term as possible, while Kovac demanded at least some long-term commitment. This resulted in a contract until summer 2026.

The 53-year-old recently said, "a shorter term was not an option for either side." Whether that was true or, according to reports, BVB could have envisioned a shorter contract, the signing was not a long-term commitment. Kovac didn't see himself as a firefighter, but rather as someone looking ahead. "My goal was to arrive here at Borussia Dortmund, get the ship back on track, and then deliver excellent work in the medium and, if possible, the long term," Kovac told the "Ruhr Nachrichten."

And the coach, who won the DFB Cup with Eintracht Frankfurt and the double with FC Bayern Munich, has himself ensured that the prospects for that are getting better and better. Kovac had only picked up six points from his first six Bundesliga matches with BVB, and the critics felt vindicated. Perhaps it was even the case that only the successes in the Champions League, in which BVB, under Sahin's successor, made it past the intermediate round and the round of 16 during this time, were able to somewhat placate his superiors.

But for the past month, Borussia have presented themselves in a completely different light. The team no longer plays like a diva; they are reliable, successful, and strong in their play, fighting spirit, and running ability – Kovac has proven his critics wrong. The development is enormous, which is evident not only in the 13 out of 15 points they have earned in the last five games. The players are following their coach, who is pushing the buttons that clearly need to be pushed with this squad.

In the last five league games, BVB players have run an average of 121.8 kilometers per game, compared to 115.4 kilometers in his first six matches. They're also sprinting around 15 percent more (254 sprints per game compared to 220), and their chance conversion rate has improved dramatically, reaching 31 percent during the period, up from 12 percent previously. The latter is proof that Kovac and the results have given the players enormous confidence.

This was achieved because the top-class stars trusted their coach's approach, followed his lead, and because Kovac backed them. One example is Julian Brandt, who faced enormous criticism. This was not unjustified, as the attacking midfielder failed to demonstrate his potential, but it was certainly a burden. "Julian continues to have the same status he had before," said Kovac, defending Brandt.

And the coach has managed to ensure that Emre Can has been quiet for a very long time. For months, the captain was the number one topic of conversation around BVB, but now he's a key player in central defense and consistently demonstrates his value to the team week after week. Can is leading the way again on and off the pitch because, like Brandt, who recently shone again at TSG Hoffenheim, he feels the necessary security from Kovac.

"We're now attacking for the Champions League. That's our goal. We can't say we don't want to play European football next year or in the Champions League. We have a lot of catching up to do, we messed up a lot this season, so we need every point," Can said recently. And Kovac is giving us free rein in this endeavor as well: "I believe the team is willing and has the opportunity to achieve all the goals we've set for ourselves."

When Kovac arrived, they were a long way away; after his first six Bundesliga games as Dortmund coach, they were even further away – but now they're very close. BVB is sixth and only three points behind fourth place, which would secure their seventh Champions League qualification in the last eight years.

On Saturday, Kovac and Dortmund can take the next step on a path that almost seemed impossible to follow against VfL Wolfsburg (6:30 p.m., live via audio stream on sportschau.de ). The final games at Bayer Leverkusen and Holstein Kiel follow, and then the Club World Cup continues – with the certainty of a future in the Champions League behind them?

Kovac clearly gives BVB a great deal – and the club is placing increasing trust in him. "What he's achieved with us over the past few months is extraordinary, and we'd have to be completely stupid to think about anything else. He'll continue. Of course," BVB chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke clarified in the ZDF sports studio.

Watzke was always the epitome of the search for a new Klopp in Dortmund. Several coaches, especially Tuchel, are said to have failed because the 65-year-old didn't warm to them. Whether that will work with Kovac remains to be seen. It wasn't "true love" at first sight, but now it's a case of love at second sight. However long it may last.

• football
• Champions League
• Borussia Dortmund
• Niko Kovac