Former Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac is to take over as Borussia Dortmund head coach until next year, sporting director Lars Ricken said on Wednesday.
The 53-year-old is to replace Nuri Sahin, who was sacked last week, with Dortmund since led by interim coach Mike Tullberg.
“I can confirm we have reached an agreement [with Kovac],” Ricken told DAZN after Dortmund’s 3-1 home win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League. “Mike Tullberg will lead the team on Saturday [in the league against Heidenheim], before Niko takes over on Sunday.”
Photo: AP
Earlier on Wednesday, German daily Bild reported that Kovac and Dortmund had reached a “basic agreement” on the deal, with the former Croatia international unwilling to only agree to take over until the end of this season.
Kovac, who left his last job as VfL Wolfsburg coach in March last year, won the DFB-Pokal with Eintracht Frankfurt against Bayern Munich in 2018, before taking the top job in Munich weeks later.
At Bayern, he won a league and cup double in 2018-2019, but was let go by the club midway through the following season.
Known for his disciplinarian style and focus on fitness, Kovac takes over a Dortmund side who have struggled since reaching last season’s Champions League final.
Dortmund are 11th in the Bundesliga, 22 points behind leaders Bayern, and have won just one of their past eight league games.
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