Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac is all set for an emotional reunion with his former side Eintracht Frankfurt on Satruday when his current side host them at the Signal Iduna Park on matchday seven of the 2026-27 Bundesliga season.
Kovac was in-charge of the Eagles for two years from 2016 to 2018. While his returns in the league were disappointing, the Eagles reached back-to-back DFB-Pokal finals under him, losing the 2017 edition to Dortmund before beating Bayern Munich the following year to guide the club to their first silverware since 1988.
Ahead of facing his former club, Kovac said that while he still feels an attachment to his old club, his mind is firmly set on Dortmund right now. He said:
"Wherever I work, I always leave my heart there. That’s just the way it is. Sure, I’m an employee. But I think you can see – I hope you can see – that we identify fully with BVB here, that we give our all every single second we’re here. "
After leaving Frankfurt, Kovac joined Bayern Munich, where he had also spent three years as a player, but his reign lasted just over a year. A 5-1 loss to, ironically, Eintracht Frankfurt, in 2019 led to his sacking following which joined French side AS Monaco the following year.
Another two years later, Kovac returned to Bundesliga with VfL Wolfsburg in 2022. In January of last year, the BVB came calling when the club was going through a turmoil after a series of poor results under Nuri Sahin.
He lifted the side up from 11th to guide them into Champions League places by the end of 2024-25 season, before achieving a runners-up finish in the Bundesliga in his first full-season with the club. He recently signed a contract extension until June 2029 too.
A trophy, though, remains elusive from his Dortmund cabinet. The former Croatia international revealed that's his goal with the club right now and vowed to leave no stone unturned in his pursuit.
" I had some wonderful moments at Frankfurt, and here too. What we’re still aiming for, of course, is to lift a trophy. We’ll have to work hard for that; we’ll give it our all, and may dear God help us there too."he added
Borussia Dortmund are currently second in the Bundesliga table to Bayern Munich by goal-difference and 13th in the League Phase standings of the UEFA Champions League.
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