“He has BVB in his heart” - Hans-Joachim Watzke backs Nuri Sahin to shine as Borussia Dortmund head coach

Hans-Joachim Watzke believes that appointing Nuri Sahin as Borussia Dortmund head coach following Edin Terzic’s decision to step down was a no brainer.

Borussia Dortmund confirmed the appointment of Nuri Sahin as their new head coach earlier this month. The appointment came after Edin Terzic stepped down from the role despite leading the Black and Yellows to the UEFA Champions League final this season.

Sahin, who began his playing career at Borussia Dortmund and returned to the club as an assistant coach in January, signed a three year contract as head coach. And Hans-Joachim Watzke is confident that the 35 year old has what it takes to succeed in his new role.

“Nuri has BVB in his heart - that's not just an empty phrase with him,” Watzke told SportBILD. “He has proven over the last six months how well he suits BVB as a coach. He managed to unite the entire team behind him, which is an important quality. For me, the question of who would succeed Edin Terzic was not up for debate, it was obvious to me.”

Watzke has also revealed that even Jose Mourinho, who coached Sahin at Real Madrid, congratulated them on the appointment. “He played under great coaches - and he maintained a very good relationship with each of them. Jose Mourinho, who coached him at Real, also offered us congratulations on the decision to make him head coach.”

Nuri Sahin will aim to lead Borussia Dortmund back to the top of the Bundesliga charts following this season’s disappointing fifth place finish. He will also be tasked with adopting a more attack-minded style of play, after Terzic failed to win over the supporters with his pragmatic approach to matches.