DORTMUND, January 30, 2025 – Niko Kovac, the former coach of Bayern Munich, Croatia, and Monaco, has been appointed head coach of Borussia Dortmund until 2026, confirmed club sporting director Lars Ricken on Wednesday evening.
The 53-year-old Croatian will succeed Nuri Sahin, who was dismissed last Wednesday. Interim coach Mike Tullberg had been in charge since then.
“Mike Tullberg will lead the team on Saturday against Heidenheim in the league before Niko takes over on Sunday,” Ricken stated following BVB’s 3-1 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk in their final group stage match of the UEFA Champions League.
Kovac, who managed Wolfsburg from 2022 to 2024, previously won the DFB-Pokal with Eintracht Frankfurt against Bayern in 2018, shortly before accepting the managerial position at the Munich club a few weeks later. At Bayern, he secured a cup-league double in the 2018-19 season but was dismissed midway through the following season.
Known for his discipline and focus on physical fitness, Kovac, who coached Monaco from 2020 until January 2022, will take charge of a Dortmund side that has struggled since losing in the Champions League final in June 2024.
Currently, BVB sits in 11th place in the Bundesliga, trailing leaders Bayern by 22 points, and has managed only two victories in their last eleven matches across all competitions.
