Sports
Er rettete dem BVB die gesamte Saison!
Niko Kovac (53) führte Dortmund im Saisonfinale von Platz 11 auf 4, gewann zuletzt die vergangenen fünf Liga-Spiele. In SPORT BILD spricht der Erfolgstrainer über die beeindruckende Aufholjagd.
Kovac: „Wir haben uns der schwierigen Situation als Einheit gestellt: Mannschaft, Trainerteam, Staff und Führungsriege. Für mich war von Anfang an klar, dass wir zusammenhalten müssen und ein starkes Miteinander brauchen. Und dass wir ehrlich miteinander sind. Das haben wir geschafft.“
Ein Grund für den Erfolg: „Wir haben klare Regeln aufgestellt“, sagt Kovac. „Ich fordere nichts ein, was unmöglich ist. Eigenschaften wie Leistungsbereitschaft, Teamfähigkeit und Siegeswillen sind für mich aber unverhandelbar. Und jeder Spieler war bereit, unseren gemeinsamen Weg zu gehen.“
[–>Nur ein Beispiel dafür: Abwehrspieler Waldemar Anton (28), der nach seinem Wechsel aus Stuttgart zunächst Schwierigkeiten beim BVB hatte. Kovac haben vor allem zwei Dinge überzeugt: Erstens, dass Anton auch beim sogenannten „Spiel-Ersatztraining“ – der Einheit der Reservisten – vollen Einsatz gezeigt hat. Und zweitens, dass er für Zusammenhalt in der zuvor stark zerrütteten Kabine gesorgt hat. So ist Anton nach dem Spiel in Bochum (0:2) zum Beispiel direkt zu Niklas Süle (29) gegangen, um ihm nach dessen schwerem Patzer Mut zuzusprechen. Obwohl Süle damals Antons Startelf-Konkurrent war. Eigenschaften, die Kovac schätzt.
Kovac spricht von zwei Schlüsselspielen, die auf dem Weg zur Königsklasse entscheidend waren: „Für mich gab es zwei Momente, die ich als nachhaltig empfunden habe. Das war zum einen der schlechte Auftritt gegen Augsburg (0:1; d. Red.), nachdem wir zuvor zwei klare Siege in der Liga eingefahren hatten. Da war klar, dass wir so nicht weitermachen können. Zum anderen das Rückspiel gegen Barcelona (3:1 im Champions-League-Viertelfinale), wo wir eine Leistung gezeigt haben, die uns nur wenige zugetraut haben. Da haben wir gemerkt, was möglich ist, wenn wir alle an einem Strang ziehen.“
Die Mannschaft spürte sofort schnell, dass ihr Trainer Leistung honoriert. Auf Wunsch der Spieler wurde nur noch vormittags trainiert, nicht mehr wie unter Vorgänger Nuri Sahin (36) nachmittags am Ende der Woche. Und: Nach Siegen in Hoffenheim (3:2) und gegen Wolfsburg (4:0) schenkte er der Mannschaft jeweils einen zusätzlichen freien Tag. Als Zeichen der Wertschätzung – die Profis zahlten zurück.
Beispiel Emre Can (31): Seit Monaten plagen den Kapitän Adduktorenprobleme. Weil beim Spiel in Freiburg (4:1) und eine Woche später in München jedoch ein personeller Engpass in der Abwehr herrschte, nahm Can starke Schmerzmittel, um doch auflaufen zu können. Nach der Partie in München war sein Körper dann am Ende, Can konnte sich kaum bewegen. Seitdem kann er nur noch stark dosiert trainieren. Die Pause ist aus seiner Sicht überfällig.
Für alle anderen Profis galt weiterhin: das schlimme Fitness-Level, das die Mannschaft bei Kovac’ Amtsantritt Anfang Februar offenbarte, in den Griff zu bekommen. Die Spieler mussten viele Extra-Schichten absolvieren, vor allem auf dem Fahrrad. Bereits wenige Tage nach seinem Start ließ der Kroate einen ersten Laktat-Test durchführen, vor rund drei Wochen einen weiteren.
Merkwürdiger Satz des BVB-Torwarts: Plötzlich Abschieds-Diskussion um Kobel!
Kovac: „Es war für mein Trainerteam und mich wichtig zu wissen, auf welchem Stand unsere Spieler sind. Sowohl um zu wissen, was ich von ihnen einfordern kann als auch um zu wissen, welche Reize wir im Training setzen müssen. In den ersten zwei Monaten meiner Amtszeit hatten wir fast durchgehend Englische Wochen, da blieb nicht viel Zeit zum Trainieren. Umso wichtiger war es zu wissen, wie wir die Einheiten steuern mussten. Der zweite Test hat gezeigt, dass die Arbeit Früchte getragen hat und die Maßnahmen Wirkung erzielt haben.“
Unter Sahin lief das Team im Durchschnitt 114,8 Kilometer pro Spiel, unter Kovac 118,2 km. Der BVB kam unter seiner Leitung endlich in Schwung.
This news was originally published on this post .
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