Better than Jürgen Klopp, Ottmar Hitzfeld and Co.: Niko Kovač tops the Borussia Dortmund pile
Borussia Dortmund's victory over Hoffenheim was Niko Kovač's 50th Bundesliga game as head coach, and he is setting a record-breaking pace.
Borussia Dortmund's trip to the PreZero Arena was anything but plain sailing, as they drifted into a 2-0 deficit. However, they showed all of their resilience and mettle to come from behind to prevail. Nevertheless, Kovač, whose decision to introduce game-changers Ethan Nwaneri and Fabio Silva into the fray paid dividends, called it a 'lucky victory, but a fantastic display of spirit and energy'.
The three points not only maintained Dortmund's winning start to the campaign, but also helped Kovač set a new club record and move top of the pile in several different club statistics on what was a milestone day for the Croatian.
Of the 50 league games he has overseen, Dortmund have won 33 and amassed 107 points. The latter of those is a new club high, with Kovač moving ahead of Lucien Favre (106 points) and Thomas Tuchel (105 points) after a half-century of matches. Current Germany head coach and BVB legend Jürgen Klopp managed just 86 points in comparison.
Dortmund managing director Lars Ricken was full of praise for the coach after the Hoffenheim game. "There was a little hug in the dressing room," he said. "No other coach has previously managed 107 points from 50 games with us - bravo."
Kovač, though, did not want to make a song and dance about his brilliant record. "The stats are what they are," he told Sky Germany. "When I'm not here anymore, someone else will do better. I will take the praise, but no more than that."
The ex-Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich trainer also has the best points-per-game ratio amongst Dortmund head coaches after 50 games with 2.14. That puts him above Tuchel (2.09), Favre (2.08), Marco Rose (2.03) and Edin Terzić (1.97), as well as the likes of Klopp (1.91) and Ottmar Hitzfeld (1.85).
Additionally, his Bundesliga win percentage is a club-lead after 50 matches at 66 percent. In fact, he is only one of four BVB men in charge to have managed over 60 percent alongside Rose (64 percent), Favre (63 percent) and Tuchel (61 percent).
If Kovač can keep this up, he may well write himself into the annals of Dortmund history.
