Dortmund’s new Croatian head coach Niko Kovac. AFP
Niko Kovac started work as coach on Sunday, taking over from unbeaten interim coach Mike Tullberg, who stepped up from the club’s under-19s for three games after Nuri Sahin was fired. Sahin, a club favorite from his playing days, was let go as coach after starting the year with four defeats.
Meanwhile, Dortmund was working on transfers on Monday. The club said Swedish defender Daniel Svensson was joining on loan from FC Nordsjælland with an option to buy. Chelsea winger Carney Chukwuemeka, Lyon midfielder Rayan Cherki, and Ajax goalkeeper Diant Ramaj were all reported targets on the last day of the winter transfer window.
Kovac will have little time to work with any new arrivals before a crunch Bundesliga clash with Stuttgart on Saturday. Stuttgart, last season’s runner up, lost its last three games across all competitions and is bidding to stop that run against Augsburg in the German Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Dortmund has already been knocked out of that competition by Wolfsburg, one of Kovac’s former clubs.
The Berlin-born former Croatia midfielder’s biggest successes as coach came first in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt, which he led to a German Cup final win over Bayern Munich in 2018. He then led Bayern to a league and cup double the following season.
Dortmund presents a formidable challenge with problems beyond the field amid reports of disharmony between managing director for sport Lars Ricken, sporting director Sebastian Kehl and team planner Sven Mislintat. Chief executive Hans-Joachim “Aki” Watzke is stepping down at the end of this year.
The inexperienced Sahin, who was coach Edin Terzić’s assistant last season, should arguably not have been given the role of head coach. But he’s not the first to falter. Kovač is the ninth coach to take charge of Dortmund since Jürgen Klopp stood down in 2015.
The Berlin-born former Croatia midfielder’s biggest successes as coach came first in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt, which he led to a German Cup final win over Bayern Munich in 2018. He then led Bayern to a league and cup double the following season.
Dortmund presents a formidable challenge with problems beyond the field amid reports of disharmony between managing director for sport Lars Ricken, sporting director Sebastian Kehl and team planner Sven Mislintat. Chief executive Hans-Joachim “Aki” Watzke is stepping down at the end of this year.
The inexperienced Sahin, who was coach Edin Terzić’s assistant last season, should arguably not have been given the role of head coach. But he’s not the first to falter. Kovač is the ninth coach to take charge of Dortmund since Jurgen Klopp stood down in 2015.
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