When BVB boss Niko Kovac played a historic match for HSV | OneFootball

Given his considerable number of stations as an active professional, Niko Kovac's time at Hamburger SV may have slipped from memory for some. From 1999 to 2001, the current Borussia Dortmund coach played for the "Rothosen." He was also part of a match that HSV fondly remembers to this day.

In his first season at HSV – Kovac had transferred from Bayer Leverkusen to the Alster – he and his team finished in 3rd place. This meant participation in the qualification for the Champions League. They secured their spot in the group stage by defeating Bröndby IF 2-0 on aggregate.

In Group E, they faced Deportivo La Coruna, Panathinaikos Athens, and Juventus Turin. In the end, HSV collected six points from these six matches, which only secured 3rd place. One of these six points was earned by Niko Kovac and HSV in the memorable home game against Juventus Turin, which was the first match on September 13, 2000, at the Volksparkstadion.

There was a flood of goals, four on each side. The Italians took the lead first, which Yeboah equalized in the 16th minute. Two goals from Inzaghi seemingly put Juventus on the winning path until HSV turned the game around. Mahdavikia, Jörg Butt with a penalty, and finally Niko Kovac scored to give HSV a 4-3 lead. Since Kovac's goal came in the 82nd minute, many hoped for a triumph with three points. However, Filippo Inzaghi thwarted this with an equalizer in the 88th minute.

Photo: IMAGO

Kovac's Return to Former Club HSV

Despite the disappointment shortly before the end, this 4-4 draw went down in HSV's history, which, since its glory days in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has had few such experiences in European competitions. Niko Kovac was part of this historic match and now returns as the coach of BVB to the site of one of the most memorable games of his career.

In another historic match – in this case, more for other clubs – Niko Kovac could have participated in the HSV jersey but was not in the squad at the time. When FC Bayern visited Hamburg on the last day of the 2000/01 season, they needed at least a draw to become champions. It seemed HSV would deny Bayern this when Sergej Barbarez scored for Hamburg in the 90th minute. In Schalke, they were already celebrating the championship, believing the match was over. However, things turned out differently. Patrick Andersson converted an indirect free kick in the penalty area in the 93rd minute to make it 1-1 – FC Bayern became champions at the Volksparkstadion. This happened without Kovac's involvement, but likely under his watchful eye, as he was still with HSV at the time. Incidentally, his next club from summer 2001 was: FC Bayern.

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