Niko Kovac: We're not at the ideal level yet

2025-08-12 08:10

Niko Kovac: We're not at the ideal level yet


Borussia Dortmund lost 2-1 to Juventus in a friendly match after leading thanks to Bayer's goal. Niko Kovac said his team is not yet at their best.


In the 15th minute of the match, Kalulu passed the ball past the defense and Cambiasso scored, giving Juventus a 1-0 lead. In the 53rd minute of the second half, Yildiz assisted Cambiasso to score, helping Juventus extend their lead to 2-0.


In the 89th minute, Brandt received the ball from the penalty area and passed it to Bayer, who turned and shot the ball into the net, helping Dortmund to tie the game 1-2. In the end, Dortmund lost to Juventus 1-2 at home.


"We lacked the energy we needed, but that's to be expected after two weeks of pre-season preparation," Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said. "We spent a lot of time in the training camp, but I don't want to use that as an excuse."


"We made some small mistakes and there were some positives, but we were still a little short of the mark in the details and that's why we lost. We still have work to do because our form is not at the ideal level yet."


In addition, Dortmund will participate in the first round of the German Cup against Rot-Weiss Essen next week, and then will usher in the first round of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season.


Niko Kovac continued, "The most important thing now is to recover our energy. We will have a relatively easy training session and then give the players a few days of rest. The next step is to enter the actual combat mode. The atmosphere at the German Cup next week will be very exciting. We need to give our all and must advance to the next round."


"We have our sights set on qualifying for the Champions League again, so we have to work very hard and stay humble. We want to play with high intensity and aggression, and score a lot of goals, so we have to put pressure on the opponent, and I hope we can do that."


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