Crazy stat! Kovac behind BVB’s remarkable progress | OneFootball

Since Niko Kovač took charge at BVB in February 2025, something fundamental has changed in the medical department. Internally, the coach is being praised for it. At the center of it is a remarkable figure regarding injury cases in Dortmund.

As BILD reports, Kovač is seen as a major asset at the club above all because of one improvement: the sharp decline in injuries. Since the 54-year-old took over, the number of injury cases is said to have dropped by around 60 percent. With numbers like that, it can hardly be a coincidence.

According to the report, new methods are behind this development. Kovač and his fitness staff are consistently focusing on prevention and want to detect overload and infections as early as possible. To do so, the professionals undergo regular saliva tests, handgrip tests, and blood tests, which are said to be used even more intensively under the coach.

From these values, along with heart-rate measurements and questionnaires on nutrition and sleep, an overall picture is created for each individual player. This forms the basis for determining how much strain each player can handle.

Workload management is also visible in everyday life at BVB

How precisely this approach works can currently be seen during the ongoing international break. Twenty BVB professionals are away with their national teams, so regular team training is hardly possible. Kovač responded with an unusual training plan and initially gave the remaining players time off.

Photo: IMAGO

Instead of group sessions, individual players were given tailored programs. The approach seems to be working: the BVB squad not only looks fit, but also resilient.

Kovač also appears to choose the most sensible solution outside the training center. Nico Schlotterbeck, for example, will remain entirely with the DFB so that he can train at the highest level. That is essential.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.