“Please go and vote!”: Dortmund Head Coach, Kovac pleads to German public ahead of Sunday’s federal election | OneFootball

On Saturday evening, Borussia Dortmund host Union Berlin in the Bundesliga, but Head Coach, Niko Kovac states that what happens on Sunday is more important as Germany head to the polls in the federal election.

As a result of their poor league form, Dortmund sacked Nuri Sahin in January, appointing Niko Kovac in his stead.

Dortmund are still languishing in 11th after his four matches in charge but are progressing in the Champions League.

Kovac started with a 2-1 home defeat to Stuttgart and followed that up with a 3-0 aggregate victory over two legs against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League playoffs.

Dortmund next play Lille, with an eye on the quarter-finals and moving up the Bundesliga table.

Nevertheless, with the far-right AFD (Alternative for Deutschland) party expected to do well in Sunday’s election, Kovac used his friday press conference to highlight the need to fight for Democracy and for the public to use their vote.

“I am sure that everyone knows how important the upcoming election is. It is about democracy, I will of course follow the election and my appeal is: please go and vote.”

The centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) look set to once again become the largest party in the Bundestag.

The CDU/CSU has consistently led polls for months and is projected to have around 29% of public support in the recent survey by Forsa, while the AFD sits second with 21%.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats have dropped to 15% while the Greens were on 13%. The far-left Left party is polling at 8%.

With all parties refusing to work with the AfD for its associations with the Nazi far-right, the latest poll suggests it will be impossible for any two of the other parties to form a majority.

Kovac highlighted that voting in the election is more important than ever.

“After rain comes sunshine”: Kovac on Union Berlin battle

Turning his attention to the game, Kovac expressed how desperate his side are for a win against Union Berlin.

“We expect Union will be a very aggressive game. We play at home and we have to show that we want to win the game.

“We need the three points tomorrow. For each individual, for the team, for each player. We have to play a completely different kind of football tomorrow. Union will challenge us from the first to the last minute. We have to show that we want to win the game.

“I look at the games again from start to finish. We are doing much more right than wrong. That makes me positive. I don’t see the result yet, but we are making progress. Now it’s about winning the games. We all want to win and that is the basic requirement.

“With the exception of Felix Nmecha, all professionals are available [and] we want to be winners. We are not pessimists, even if it is a difficult day at the moment. After rain comes sunshine.”

“The mind can manipulate a lot”: On internal competition and Injuries

Kovac discussed the internal fight for places between Larsson and Ramy Bensebaini:

“Larsson comes from Denmark and played three sensationally good games, is always available to pass to and does everything at the back. The boy doesn’t speak a word of German and fits in so fantastically. Ramy is also very important, but the three games that Larsson played were top.

“We live in a performance-oriented society and good performance must be rewarded. I am glad that we have two such good players in this position. I see a lot of potential in both boys and no matter who I bring in, it is the right decision.

“We all agree that Jamie (Gittens) has made great progress. Now he is in a completely different role for the first time. It is completely normal that things are not going steadily uphill. You should take into account that he has a completely different rhythm now. That is the point that is bothering him a little. There are a lot of intensive minutes for him. If he doesn’t play, he has an impact on tired defense lines. I am very happy with him. But there can always be a small dent.

“I have the players with me for two to three hours a day. We show the players in video sequences what they are doing well and badly. We give each player a guideline. Jule (Julian Brandt) in particular is a player who is very reflective and self-critical. That is actually positive, but he shouldn’t be too self-critical. The mind can manipulate a lot. We have to give the players the necessary information about what is going well and what can be done better.”

Champions League hopes

After the midweek Champions League victory saw Dortmund progress into the last 16, Dortmund have been drawn against French side, Lille. Lille currently sit fifth in Ligue 1 and Kovac will not take them lightly:

“Lille is a very serious opponent. There are certainly some who say that Lille is not attractive. I see it the other way around. I know the French league and Lille has a lot of quality. They have a good coach and have beaten some top-class teams. It will be a tough nut to crack and a lot of work.”

That work starts this evening with the visit of Union Berlin where Dortmund will be hoping to put a dent into the six-point deficit to Mainz in sixth. Union Berlin will be looking for only their third league win since October.

Whatever the result, all eyes will be on Sunday’s election.

GGFN | Oscar O’Mara