Robert Kovac

The 50-year-old Berlin native has been under contract as the Borussia Dortmund assistant coach since February 2025. Unlike his brother Niko, who took over at the eight-time German champions from former head coach Nuri Sahin, Robert Kovac is not in new territory in Dortmund. The former Croatia international already wore the black and yellow shirt 26 times in the Bundesliga between 2007 and 2009.

A further 221 top-flight appearances for Bayer Leverkusen (1996 to 2001) and Bayern Munich (2001 to 2005) make Robert Kovac a household name in the German Bundesliga. Spells abroad with Juventus (2005 to 2007) and Dinamo Zagreb (2009 to 2010) complete his CV as a player. 

After working for the Croatia U21 team (2013), the Croatia national team (2013 to 2015), Eintracht Frankfurt (2016 to 2018), Bayern Munich (2018 to 2019), AS Monaco (2020 to 2021) and VfL Wolfsburg (2022 to 2024), Dortmund is the seventh time that he has served as the assistant coach to his brother.

Niko, who is three years older, could not do without their collaboration. “I wouldn't exist without my brother. He's the most loyal friend that you can have. That's very, very important in our line of work,” he said during his unveiling in Dortmund.

The new BVB head coach had already expressed similar appreciation in an interview with the ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine’: “Anyone who thinks that Robby tells me what I want to hear because he is my brother is totally wrong. The opposite is the case. He’s always the one who provides counter-arguments. He's not interested in being right, but rather in constructively finding the right solution.” In his opinion, it is conceivable that Robert will “step into the foreground” in the future: “He has the ability for it.”