Mike Tullberg bids farewell to Borussia Dortmund: “I hope they can build on this.” | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund finally commemorated their first win of the 2025 calendar year with a 2-1 away victory over Heidenheim on Saturday. The three points bagged in the Bundesliga also brings an end to interim trainer Mike Tullberg’s stint in charge of the squad. Former Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg head coach Niko Kovac will take over next weekend against Stuttgart.

Tullberg will now return to the BVB U19s. The 39-year-old took his final bow in front of the club’s traveling supporters on Saturday afternoon, engaging in an emotional celebration with the team and ultras in front of the Fan Block. Both Tullberg and club sporting director Sebastian Kehl spoke on the scene whilst conducting their post-match interviews with Sky Germany afterward. Tullberg was understandably much more emotional than last week.

“This club means a lot to me,” Tullberg said. “I’ve been here a long time. This team is alive, I’m incredibly happy. I just hope they keep it up and can build on this.”

“That was very emotional and spontaneous,” Kehl added. “You can see how he lives the club. You can see what it means to him, he also chose beautiful words in the locker room. It has been close to his heart over the last few days.”

“Today was a step in the right direction, but nothing more,” Kehl answered when asked about Dortmund’s future prospects under Kovac. “Niko has his own ideas. He’ll be joining the team tomorrow and will use next week [to get acquainted with them].”

“We’ve discussed some things with Niko,” Kehl said when pressed about current transfer rumours. “I won’t comment on any names, but we’re working on one or two things.“

GGFN | Peter Weis