Not just another match – Niko Kovac marks a special milestone against Mainz | OneFootball

Even though it's just about three points, the game of Borussia Dortmund at 1. FSV Mainz 05 (September 27, 3:30 PM) is something very special for Niko Kovač (53). The BVB coach is celebrating a very special anniversary in the match against the Rheinhessen.

As a player, Kovač first stepped onto the Bundesliga stage on August 17, 1996, wearing the jersey of Bayer Leverkusen. His opponent in his debut: none other than Borussia Dortmund. At halftime, he replaced Paulo Sérgio (now 56). The 2-2 halftime score turned into a 4-2 victory for the Werkself in the end.

His career as a football coach began for the Berlin native in the summer of 2009, when he took over the second team of RB Salzburg. Later, he worked until 2012 in the professional team of RB as an assistant to the then head coach Ricardo Moniz (61). In January 2013, the Croatian Football Federation HNS hired Kovač initially for the U21 national team. Nine months later, he replaced Igor Štimac (58) in the senior national team and led them to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. After a 0-2 defeat in the qualification for the 2016 European Championship against Norway, Kovač lost his job in September 2015.

After a six-month break, it was time in March 2016. The German-Croatian returned to the Bundesliga. His mission was to keep Eintracht Frankfurt, then 16th in the table, in the league. In two dramatic relegation matches, the Hessians prevailed against 1. FC Nürnberg (1-1, 1-0). Kovač not only led the team to higher table regions but also to the much-celebrated DFB-Pokal victory in 2018.

Success Story in Dortmund

Through the stations of Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg, the Berlin native landed at Borussia Dortmund in February 2025. In the match against Mainz, he is now celebrating a special kind of anniversary. Kovač is sitting on the Bundesliga bench for the 200th time. So far, the football coach has recorded 89 wins, 44 draws, and 66 losses.

With BVB, he has so far averaged 2.11 points per game. No other coach in the history of the Black and Yellows can boast such a record – neither Jürgen Klopp (1.91) nor Ottmar Hitzfeld (1.86) nor Matthias Sammer (1.72).

Should Kovač add more chapters to his success story in Dortmund, 200 games in Germany's elite league might not be the end.

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