Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovač says the UEFA Champions League encounters with Barcelona last season sparked his side’s uptick in form and results in the final straight of 2024/25.
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Kovač took over on 2 February this year, succeeding interim coach Mike Tullberg, who himself stepped in after Nuri Şahin’s dismissal.
Dortmund were in 11th place at the time, having won just eight of their 20 Bundesliga assignments.
Fast forward to the end of the campaign and BVB ended up in fourth, securing Champions League qualification after winning nine and drawing one of their last 14 league games under Kovač.
“We didn’t have an easy time at the beginning,” the 53-year-old said in an interview with Dortmund’s YouTube channel.
“I remember the first six games. We lost four of them and hit rock bottom against Augsburg. We didn’t play well – neither did they – but they won. That was our low point.”
Watch: Highlights of Dortmund's loss to Augsburg
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Nevertheless, BVB still navigated their way past Lille in the Champions League last 16 during that period, setting up a quarter-final tie against Hansi Flick’s Barcelona.
Dortmund lost the first leg in Spain 4-0, but a brilliant display in a 3-1 victory in the return leg at the Signal Iduna Park proved to be a watershed moment for the team, despite their elimination from the competition.
“I think the game against Barcelona, especially the second leg, opened our eyes and showed us what we’re capable of,” Kovač continued.
Serhou Guirassy hit a hat-trick as Borussia Dortmund showed their true colours in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona. - Alex Grimm
“It showed us what can we achieve when we push ourselves to the limit. Barcelona are not a normal team, they’re a top team. I think that opened the players’ eyes, as I said.
“Through all the time we’ve spent together, through the difficult times but also through the positive times, something has grown together. We’ve seen that if we push ourselves to the limit together, then this club and this team can achieve the goals we set ourselves much more easily than if everyone goes their own way.”
The stats bear him out. Dortmund subsequently won each of their last five Bundesliga games of the season, scoring 17 goals across that period and at least three times in each match to seal a top-four berth.
Watch: All of Guirassy's goals in 2024/25
“I say this with inverted commas, but maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that we got knocked out by Barcelona,” Kovač said.
“Because it meant that we were able to focus fully on the Bundesliga. We could take it week by week and manage our workload for the games. That’s how it panned out.
“It was a sad exit but the bottom line is that it counts as a victory to have secured fourth place in the league at the end of the day.”