Dortmund coach Kovac not sentimental against ex-club Frankfurt

Niko Kovac will be fully focussed on his Borussia Dortmund coaching job and will have no sentimental feelings in Saturday's Bundesliga match against his former club Eintracht Frankfurt. 

"Wherever I work, I always put my heart into it. That’s just the way it is. Sure, I’m an employee, but I identify fully with BVB [Dortmund]," Kovac told reporters on Friday.

Kovac trained Frankfurt 2016-2018 and won the German Cup with them. He joined Dortmund in early 2025. 

He said he had a good time in Frankfurt and was also a club member but what counts now are big ambitions with Dortmund where he recently signed a contract extension until 2029.

“We’ve also had some wonderful moments here so far. Of course, we still want to achieve more; we want to reach new heights. To do that, we’ll have to work hard, and we’ll give it our all,” Kovac said.

Dortmund are second in the Bundesliga, behind champions Bayern Munich, who are at Freiburg on Sunday, on goal difference.

They are favourites against mid-table Frankfurt, who have had a modest start into the season. But Kovac warned that Frankfurt will be well rested while his players travelled to Azerbaijan to beat Sabah 2-1 in the Champions League in mid-week.

"We have a fresh opponent who didn't have to travel. We had to travel and we have to get over it quickly in order to at a top level immediately tomorrow," he said.

Dortmund were held to draws by Werder Bremen and at Union Berlin in their last two league matches after winning the first four.

They will try to return to winning ways without Greek talent Konstantinos Karetsas, who is nursing a foot problem and is also a doubt for next week's return of Bremen in the German Cup.

"We will have to see regarding Bremen. It is better to have a break for another match than for another month," Kovac said.