Dortmund’s Reset: Kovac Blends Discipline with Greek Flair in Bid to Bridge Bayern Gap

Optimism has returned to Borussia Dortmund. As a new season dawns for the German giants, there is a palpable sense that the club is not merely rebuilding but recapturing an identity that had faded. “Overall, we are mixing a good team,” head coach Niko Kovac explains from the club’s training ground.

“Four players left. We bought some new talented players and also one experienced player. So we kept the spine, the experienced players, the goalkeeper, the centre-back, the midfielder. And now we are trying to create the BVB, I would say, from the past.”

That means recruiting talents capable of thrilling the Yellow Wall—players suited to the rock-and-roll football that has defined Dortmund since the Jürgen Klopp era. More counter-pressing, less control. Football with a bit more feeling.

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Dortmund had drifted from this core philosophy. Recent transfer strategy leaned toward older signings, perceived as an attempt to play it safe and guarantee Champions League qualification. It was not very Dortmund.

The experienced addition Kovac references is Joey Veerman, a 27-year-old midfielder from PSV Eindhoven. Yet it is the capture of two Greek wingers—the eye-catching Giannis Konstantelias and 18-year-old prospect Konstantin Karetsas—that has supporters buzzing.

In the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, the atmosphere inside Signal Iduna Park ignited when Konstantelias entered at half-time and began terrorising Bayern Munich’s defence. Dortmund came desperately close to overturning a two-goal deficit.

Speaking afterwards about his new teammates, veteran Norwegian Julian Ryerson offered a measured endorsement: “It looks positive, yeah. We also had some good players last year but I hope it takes us to a new level, of course. I hope and I think that we are on a good path.”

The challenge is significant. Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt—proven performers in black and yellow—have departed. “We need to replace these goals, it is clear,” Kovac acknowledges. “Of course, when you buy new players, you never know if it is going to work or not.”

But that uncertainty is part of the thrill. Dortmund are daring to dream again, gambling on high-ceiling talent. “Our expectations are high because we saw that, especially the offensive players, the two Greek ones, they have a big talent.”

The question remains whether Kovac can coax out that potential. A proven winner, he carries a reputation for prioritising perspiration over inspiration—making it fascinating to see if he can provide the framework for these youngsters to flourish.

What constitutes “Niko Kovac football”? When posed the question, the coach admits he once asked a friend the same thing. The reply? Successful football. A fair point: Kovac won the cup with Eintracht Frankfurt and the double with Bayern Munich.

Yet he recognises his brand is sometimes viewed as limited compared to more celebrated peers. While Bayern’s Vincent Kompany sees his tactical tweaks pored over, Kovac’s occasional inversion of wing-backs attracts less scrutiny.

“If someone likes my style, this is up to you. For me, we are successful. And I think that, together, since we arrived, we did a very good job. As a coach, I think you need to see what kind of players you have, what situation you have, and you must always adapt.”

That adaptability defined his arrival in late January 2025, with Dortmund languishing in the Bundesliga’s bottom half. The team had lost its identity and looked in disarray; European qualification seemed a long shot.

Chief executive Carsten Cramer remains visibly grateful. “Imagine what happened when we hired him one-and-a-half years ago. We were in regions we never should be and he brought us to the Champions League.”

Cramer adds: “He is committed. He loves to work for the club. Black and yellow fits him, I would say, much better than the red and white [of Bayern] or the green and white [of Wolfsburg]. I am 100 per cent sure that he is the right man at the right moment.”

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Kovac’s credit in the bank is thoroughly deserved. “I arrived in a bad situation,” he says. He changed things. “The squad was planned with a back four, but after two or three games we saw it was not working so we changed into a back five.”

He continues: “What was also obvious was that the physical capacities—how I see football, how I see a fully fit player—were not there. So we worked on this. With those physical abilities you’re immediately a better football player.”

His reasoning: improved fitness simplifies decision-making on the pitch. “Without those physical abilities, you are calculating. Should I run backwards? Should I run forward? Should I defend? Should I attack?” If you are fitter, you just do it.

“This was a little bit tricky because when it is not working players always fall into the same old habits, so it took a little bit of time. But we finished fourth.” From there, Dortmund built a platform and returned to second place last season.

The gap to Bayern stood at 25 points after his first season, narrowing to 16 last term. Framed this way, a title challenge still feels distant. “To close this gap, a lot must happen.” Dortmund must overperform.

“It is also important that Bayern Munich is not playing top,” he concedes. The frustration of recent years is that opportunities arose and were not seized. They threw away a title on the final day in 2023 and watched Bayer Leverkusen end Bayern’s hegemony in 2024.

Yet hope—always hope—persists. The fusion of Kovac’s discipline with the high ceiling of the new talent suggests possibilities once more. Can they do it? “I do not like to speak first and then work,” says Kovac, smiling. “I think the opposite way is better.”

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