dortmund: Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac has extended his contract by a year through June 2027.
“Niko has thrown himself wholeheartedly into his role at BVB,” Lars Ricken, the club’s managing director for sport, said in a statement on Tuesday. “He knows football inside out, he has clear principles, he’s thoroughly honest, he’s direct in his communication and he rewards good performance.”
Kovac, who previously won trophies with Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt, took over in February when the team was 11th in the Bundesliga after a difficult start to the season under Nuri Sahin. He made the team more resilient and oversaw a marked improvement to finish fourth for Champions League qualification on the final day.
“Under him, our club is on the up again,” Ricken said. Dortmund’s start this season has been complicated by a spate of injuries in defense with Nico Schlotterbeck, Niklas Süle and Emre Can all injured. Stand-in defender Filippo Mané was sent off on his Bundesliga debut against St. Pauli last weekend. Dortmund held on to draw 3-3 with St. Pauli. agencies