By Oliver Trust

BERLIN, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Niko Kovac's facial expression might have told all about Borussia Dortmund's current state of mind.

The newly promoted coach of the Yellow and Blacks with a serious face was busy getting loose pieces together and playing down tensions.

Having to act as a crisis manager after his first game on the BVB bench as the successor of dismissed Suri Sahin and interim coach Mike Tullberg, the club's U-19 coach might have come unexpectedly and, from his perspective, required an unscheduled approach.

Ahead of the 2021 German Cup winners' delicate UEFA Champions League playoffs against Sporting with the first leg this Tuesday evening, the 2-1 defeat on home soil against VfB Stuttgart increased difficulties.

Instead of entirely demolishing his side, the former Bayern, Frankfurt, and Wolfsburg coach praised his team's efforts in dark times and only occasionally mentioned failures.

"We shouldn't have lost this game," the former Croatian international said, ignoring personal setbacks. After losing all of his six games when in charge of competitors, the 83-time capped lost his curtain raiser as the BVB's head coach.

While the 53-year-old is forced to prepare his side on their way to proceed to the next round of the Champions League, the club is in danger of losing his position as the country's number two behind Bayern Munich.

Internal power struggles have affected the club. Last week, Dortmund dismissed technical director Sven Mislintat, and the resulting imbalance in squad selection triggered a downward trend.

In fact, the transition from CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke to 1997 Champions League final hero Lars Ricken, is coming along with additional difficulties.

While Watzke said the club can survive two seasons without Champions League participation, as the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is providing additional revenues, the future remains uncertain.

Despite significant investments in their playing staff, Dortmund has gone through nine coaches since Jurgen Klopp left in 2015 with Kovac as their number ten.

Despite a setback in the national league with six points behind fourth-seated Stuttgart, 25 points off table leader Bayern, and 17 behind runner-up Leverkusen, the pressure ahead of the duel against Sporting seems mountain high.

Within two days, Kovac is forced to implement emergency actions to lift the wavering team's spirits.

Profound training work seems impossible despite many of the BVB's leading players such as former Stuttgart spearhead Serhou Guirassy and Stuttgart defender Waldemar Anton seem stuck in a performance low, not to speak of the club's German internationals such as Julian Brandt and Emre Can.

The Champions League seems to provide the opportunity to deliver relief after the BVB only narrowly missed the first eight in the newly structured format of a league phase.

15 points in eight encounters, making the BVB end up as the table's tenth, stand for a satisfying campaign. Therefore, Kovac is trying to make his side forget about the failed league start and fully focus on new shores. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)