After months of chaos, coaching upheaval, and questions over their identity, Borussia Dortmund completed an improbable turnaround to clinch Champions League qualification on the final day of the Bundesliga season.
A 3-0 win over Holstein Kiel at Signal Iduna Park, combined with Freiburg’s loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, was enough to lift Dortmund into fourth place, a spot they hadn’t occupied since August. The roar inside the stadium echoed relief as much as celebration.
It was a season teetering on disaster. Nuri Sahin’s tenure as head coach unravelled quickly, with Dortmund languishing in mid-table and not managing a single away win until December. His sacking in February, following a humbling run of defeats, seemed inevitable.
Enter Niko Kovac. The experienced Croatian, appointed after spells at Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, inherited a fractured squad and an identity crisis. “Energy, determination and team spirit” were the values Dortmund’s sporting CEO Lars Ricken cited upon Kovac’s arrival and slowly, they began to show.
Dortmund’s form under Kovac wasn’t instant. Early losses to Stuttgart, Bochum, and Augsburg raised eyebrows. But from late March onwards, the team clicked, going unbeaten in their final eight Bundesliga games, including wins at Leverkusen and Freiburg, and a spirited 2-2 draw away at Bayern.
The statistics tell a story of transformation. Dortmund’s running distance soared, topping the league on matchday 33 and so did their intensity. Players like Karim Adeyemi rediscovered form, Serhou Guirassy found his scoring touch, and the defence rallied despite injuries to key figures.
Behind the scenes, the club also weathered turbulence. A contract standoff with Sebastian Kehl was resolved, while controversial figure Sven Mislintat was dismissed. This summer will mark the end of Hans-Joachim Watzke’s two-decade reign as CEO.
Yet amid transition, Dortmund are heading back to Europe’s top table. Their Champions League return brings not just prestige, but stability and a foundation on which Kovac can build in 2025–26.
