Niko Kovac in FAZ Q&A: favourite players, preferences, mistakes | OneFootball

Whether Niko Kovac will do better in his second season than at most of his previous stops as a coach remains to be seen. Neither the result nor the overall performance of his BVB in the 3-3 draw at FC St. Pauli was convincing. However, Kovac has answered a questionnaire from the FAZ, where he provides brief and concise information about many of his views and preferences.

Niko Kovac has been the coach of Borussia Dortmund since early February. The 53-year-old was active as a player for Hertha BSC, Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV, FC Bayern München, and FC Salzburg, winning the 2001 World Cup and one championship each in Germany and Austria. He has been working as a coach since 2009, taking over the Croatian national team as his first senior team in 2013.

This was followed by Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Bayern again, AS Monaco, and VfL Wolfsburg, before he landed at BVB. Many were skeptical whether Niko Kovac was the right man to lead Borussia Dortmund back to the top. Additionally, he is not considered to be very approachable, which is why it is quite interesting to study Kovac's answers.

When asked about the qualities of a good soccer player, Niko Kovac lists three things. Not surprisingly, mentality and discipline are among them, along with technique, which a professional should bring. After all, Kovac is considered a coach who primarily relies on the first two factors, which at least worked extraordinarily well at the end of the last season.

Photo: IMAGO

BVB coach Kovac brief but open in the FAZ

He sees Zinedine Zidane as the best opponent of his active time, while his favorite player in history is Maradona. In another answer, he also has a treat for one of his current professionals. When asked "Which player is better than the general public believes?", he replies with Julian Brandt.

He would like to change the hand rule in soccer, which has been leading to unclear interpretations for years. And again, he lists qualities that he admires, which he probably also wishes for his teams:

Among many other answers that Kovac gives quite briefly, his last one in the FAZ questionnaire also catches the eye. What does he consider his biggest mistake? "Being too perfectionistic."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.