In training and with special test - catastrophic fitness values ​​at BVB! Now tough Kovac takes action

This lack of fitness is clearly having an impact on the team's performance: individual errors and concentration problems are piling up. Coach Niko Kovac, who recently took over BVB, sees this as one of the main reasons for the fluctuating results and has already reacted.

To improve the fitness level of his players, Kovac is relying on harder and longer training. Since he took office, the professionals have only had three days off from training. In addition, the coach has scheduled a lactate test for this week in order to obtain exact comparison values ​​and to adjust the load control individually.

More physical stability could also bring tactical advantages. According to the report, Kovac is apparently planning to make his defensive system more variable with a fitter team. Niklas Süle is said to have made significant progress in recent weeks.

Dortmund is currently only in tenth place in the Bundesliga table with 32 points from 23 games. The gap to a Champions League place is already seven points. Nevertheless, Lothar Matthäus believes that they can catch up : "You shouldn't look too far ahead, but take one step at a time. The next step has to be a single-digit position in the table, after which BVB can attack the places for the Conference and Europa League."

Dietmar Hamann, on the other hand, is less optimistic, seeing large discrepancies between expectations and reality: "When you see what the team is capable of and then what they have shown over the last eight months, then expectations and reality are simply too far apart."

Whether Niko Kovac 's measures have the desired effect will become clear in the coming weeks. One thing is clear: without a significant improvement in performance, BVB will hardly be able to achieve its goals for the season.