Malik Waqar
Fresh from appointing Niko Kovac as coach, Borussia Dortmund can take a major first step towards salvaging their season with a top-four finish when they host Stuttgart on Saturday.
Stuttgart thrashed Dortmund 5-1 in September, the first loss of Nuri Sahin’s tenure.
In hindsight, it was a clear sign all was not well in the yellow and black corner of northwestern Germany.
Despite Dortmund buying striker Serhou Guirassy and captain Waldemar Anton from Stuttgart in the summer, Saturday’s visitors are putting together another impressive campaign.
Last season’s runners-up Stuttgart sit fifth, ahead of 11th-placed strugglers Dortmund, who fired Sahin in January.
But a mid-table traffic jam means Dortmund could draw level with Stuttgart with a win on Saturday.
Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness has turned around the side’s fortunes since taking over in April 2023, lifting Stuttgart from a relegation mire to the Champions League.
His success had him marked by some as Sahin’s best replacement — but Dortmund opted for former Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and Monaco coach Kovac.
Kovac will make his debut in the dugout on Saturday, with top-four qualification the clear objective.
Former Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, who won two Bundesliga titles with the club under Jurgen Klopp, told AFP on Thursday that his old team have found the right man for the job.
“He’s a great manager for Borussia Dortmund. He’s coming with discipline and hard work to push them to be a top team in the Bundesliga again,” said Weidenfeller.
“He’s the best manager for this situation, to push the team and organise them. They are four points off the Champions League spots — this is what they have to organise.
“Every player will have to push and will need to work harder — to prove themselves, that they deserve to be in the starting XI.”
Weidenfeller was Dortmund’s goalkeeper when Jurgen Klopp took over in 2008. While stopping short of comparing the two coaches, who have clear differences in their style of play, Weidenfeller said the pair share a relentless work ethic.
“We worked so hard on our own discipline, on our power — it was tough, tough, tough,” the 44-year-old recalled. “We ran all over the place.”
“Each year we felt fitter, stronger and more like a team as every player worked on his own level of performance.”
League leaders Bayern Munich host a resurgent Werder Bremen on Friday — the match when their season began to come unstuck last campaign.
Bayer Leverkusen, who sit six points behind in second and play on Saturday, face a tricky away trip to Wolfsburg.
Named in UEFA’s Champions League team of the year last season, Gregor Kobel has struggled this term — but his woes have mirrored those of his team.
