Niko Kovač signs Borussia Dortmund extension until 2029

“Der Trainer verlängert!” (“The coach extends!”): Borussia Dortmund announced the extension of head coach Niko Kovač on Tuesday, on X and in a club statement. The 54-year-old Croatian has signed a contract running to 30 June 2029, and his assistants Robert Kovač and Filip Tapalović have extended with him. The former AS Monaco coach is into his second full season on the BVB bench.

From eleventh place to 73 points

Kovač took the job in spring 2025, mid-season, to turn around a difficult sporting situation: Dortmund sat eleventh in the Bundesliga. He finished that campaign by securing Champions League qualification. The next season took BVB to second in the Bundesliga on 73 points, behind Bayern; in the Champions League, the run ended in the playoff round against Atalanta.

Kovač’s longest stay in Germany

The extension to 2029 should break his own record for longevity on a German bench: Eintracht Frankfurt kept him from 2016 to 2018, Bayern for a single season (2018-2019), Wolfsburg for two (2022-2024); none gave him more.

The club statement spells the project out: “Together, we have set out a clear development and laid solid foundations for the future. We want to build on those foundations. Above all, we will not rest on what we have achieved and will work every day to improve.” Runners-up behind Bayern last season, Dortmund keep the coach who lifted them there and treat that second place as a starting point.