Borussia Dortmund have guaranteed Champions League football for next season after being a mid-table side for most of the Bundesliga campaign. The most recent positive run of results under Niko Kovač — five wins in the last five matches — gave fans hope that the team has finally found a path and a manager whom they can support fully. However, it is not that simple.
Even though Kovač deserves credit for what is due, he didn't do more than any other manager at BVB should be required to do. Indeed, the context was completely different in this case, considering the Sahin disaster, but the result is the bare minimum fans should always expect from the Black and Yellows: a top-four finish. Gladly, Kovač understands that more than anyone:
"What the fans have delivered has been immense. I do not want to overrate the success; we only came fourth."Niko Kovač
That quote provides me with some relief that, despite fans' excitement at the season's end, which they are entirely entitled to, it should not be enough. Borussia Dortmund should be fighting for trophies now and then, and not fighting to reach the Champions League on the campaign's last day.
Don't take me wrong, Kovač's accomplishments this season need to be emphasized and applauded, mainly considering the situation he got into in the first place, but they should NOT be glorified.
"We were eleventh a few months ago. What Niko did was one of the greatest coaching achievements in the history of BVB. He talked the players up at the start. When the confidence came, he put his finger in the wound."Lars Ricken
Even though Ricken is not wrong on paper, glorifying and labelling Kovač's doings "the greatest coaching achievements in the history of BVB" sounds insane to me for a club that has won the Champions League before and dominated the league in the early 2010s. Those are the accomplishments that should be labelled as such, not a top-four finish, as spectacular as it seemed.
These kinds of quotes still worry me in terms of what standards the management has settled for BVB, but I still see some light at the end of the tunnel. Whether Kovač's ceiling is enough to lead the Black and Yellows back to glory, I must confess I am still skeptical. However, Kovač's attitude at the end of the weekend's match helped me see that some people at the club want more than the top four.
Quotes like the one below should always be the recurrent discourse in seasons like 2024/2025, where BVB managed to salvage what could have been a catastrophe, which means the club should be aiming way higher. I don't know if Kovač is the man for the job, but I am glad he doesn't settle for mediocrity, and that 4th place should not be glorified.
"I have done my job here, nothing more. You cannot achieve anything in football on your own. It takes everyone. Players, staff, and fans. That is crucial. I am simply happy. But no satisfaction."Niko Kovač