One year of Niko Kovac: How has BVB’s football changed? | OneFootball

Since February 2, 2025, Niko Kovac has held the position of head coach at Borussia Dortmund. How has BVB’s football changed under his leadership? In addition to a significant improvement in one important area of the game, there is still reason to further adjust the team, at least according to fussballdaten.de.

The most obvious improvement is the regained defensive stability. Under Niko Kovac, the team has conceded only 1.1 goals per game in all matches since he took over. Under his unlucky predecessor Nuri Sahin, the average was still 1.7 goals conceded per game, which quickly led to the separation from the former Borussia Dortmund player.

Seven wins from eight games in the final phase of last season also lifted the club into the ranks necessary for Champions League qualification. A remarkable run through the Bundesliga, which Kovac can certainly take credit for. Defensively, things are going very well in the new season as well. Nineteen goals conceded after 20 matchdays is even better than the overall average from Kovac’s tenure, although the recent Champions League matches have painted a slightly different picture.

Photo: Getty Images

BVB much more stable under Kovac than under Sahin

In the Bundesliga, there has only been one defeat, naturally against the industry leader FC Bayern Munich. Otherwise, the team remains unbeaten, though, according to not only fussballdaten.de, they draw too often for many people’s taste. Particularly striking are the points dropped after taking the lead, such as against FC St. Pauli or more recently against VfB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV. In these matches, BVB’s otherwise stable defense failed them at crucial moments.

Many also complain about the lack of attractiveness in the offensive play under Niko Kovac. Fussballdaten.de does not provide any figures on this, but the aesthetic or emotional value of attacking actions is, in any case, difficult to measure in numbers.

Not only in the aforementioned draws, but also in games they have won, a similar pattern emerges, which can be described as follows: “Above all, the lack of control in midfield and the unimaginative attacking play against deep-lying opponents are weaknesses in Borussia’s game that occur regularly.”

That does not change the fact that BVB is once again the second force in football and has regained sporting strength. However, the challenge for Kovac in his second year at Borussia Dortmund remains to bring more sparkle and excitement to the offense.

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