Physical picture: Dortmund plans to discuss contract renewal with Kovac, may renew contract for 2 years, but the contract is terminated or renewed 1+1

According to German media "Sports Pictures", Dortmund's senior management recognized Kovac as the correct coach of the team. The two sides planned to negotiate a contract renewal this fall. There are currently two plans to consider renewal.

Kovac replaced Shahin as Dortmund's head coach in February this year, and then the Yellow and Black Army made a counterattack in the Bundesliga and entered the Champions League qualification zone, and reached the quarter-finals in last season's Champions League and this summer's Club World Cup, a large part of this credit is attributed to Kovac.

The coach is spending a short summer vacation with his family in his hometown of Croatia, after which he will bring a significantly more successful season to Dortmund than the previous season. On this point, all Dortmund executives agree: Kovac is the right coach.

So it is no surprise that Dortmund Sports General Manager Ricken and sports director Kyle have long formulated plans for Kovac's future, namely a long-term plan. According to the "Sports Photos", the two sides hope to sit down in the fall and negotiate to extend the contract until after 2026.

It is reported that Dortmund's senior management believes that it is important to send a signal to the players as soon as possible, that is, Kovac will remain their head coach after the new season - so that no players will slacken.

Two contract options are being discussed internally: either Kovac will extend the contract directly for two years to 2028, and in this case, a so-called "dismissal clause" is likely to be set up, that is, if the team's competitive performance is not successful, Dortmund can terminate the contract early on with lower compensation. Or: Kovac signs the contract first until 2027, and his contract will automatically be extended for one year when the team is successful.

Either way: Dortmund has high hopes for Kovac. This is also reflected in the new coaching team: Georg Schultz replaced the dismissed Sha Forsyth, which is a wish of Kovac. Kovac also worked with new data analyst Noah Tegats in Wolfsburg.