There is a renewed sense of belief at Borussia Dortmund ahead of the new Bundesliga season. Head coach Niko Kovac, speaking at the club's training ground, describes a squad that is not merely being rebuilt — it is being reimagined.

"Overall, we are mixing a good team," Kovac says. "Four players left. We bought some new talented players and also one experienced player. So we kept the spine, the experienced players, the goalkeeper, the centre-back, the midfielder. And now we are trying to create the BVB, I would say, from the past."

The return to rock-and-roll football

That vision means counter-pressing, energy, and the kind of expansive attacking play that defined Dortmund during the Jurgen Klopp era — football with feeling rather than control. In recent years, the club had drifted from those principles, leaning on older signings and cautious thinking in a bid to secure Champions League qualification. It felt at odds with everything Dortmund stand for.

The experienced arrival Kovac references is Joey Veerman, the 27-year-old midfielder signed from PSV Eindhoven. But the signings generating the most excitement are the two Greek wingers: Giannis Konstantelias and 18-year-old Konstantin Karetsas.

At the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, Signal Iduna Park came alive when Konstantelias entered at half-time and ran directly at Bayern Munich's defence. Dortmund fell narrowly short of overturning a two-goal deficit, but the reaction from the stands said everything about the appetite for this new direction.

Norwegian defender Julian Ryerson offered a cautious endorsement after the match. "It looks positive, yeah. We also had some good players last year but I hope it takes us to a new level, of course. I hope and I think that we are on a good path," he said.

Filling the void left by departing stars

The challenge is real. Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt — reliable, proven contributors in Dortmund black and yellow — have both departed. "We need to replace these goals, it is clear," Kovac acknowledges. "Of course, when you buy new players, you never know if it is going to work or not."

Yet that uncertainty is inseparable from the excitement. "Our expectations are high because we saw that, especially the offensive players, the two Greek ones, they have a big talent," says Kovac.

Kovac: the architect of the revival

Kovac arrived at Dortmund in late January 2025 with the club stranded in the wrong half of the Bundesliga table, their identity lost and European qualification looking distant. He quickly switched from a back four to a back five, overhauled the squad's physical conditioning, and steadily dragged the club back from the brink.

Chief executive Carsten Cramer is direct about how critical that intervention was. "Imagine what happened when we hired him one-and-a-half years ago. We were in regions we never should be and he brought us to the Champions League," Cramer says. "He is committed. He loves to work for the club. Black and yellow fits him, I would say, much better than the red and white or the green and white. I am 100 per cent sure that he is the right man at the right moment."

Dortmund finished fourth in Kovac's first partial season, then climbed to second last term — though the gap to Bayern Munich still stood at 16 points. A title challenge remains a significant ask. "To close this gap, a lot must happen," Kovac concedes, noting that Bayern Munich would also need to drop below their usual standard.

The painful memory of 2023 — when Dortmund squandered the title on the final day — and the sight of Bayer Leverkusen ending Bayern Munich's long domestic dominance in 2024 only sharpens the hunger. This time, Dortmund hope that Kovac's discipline fused with young, electric talent creates genuine possibilities.

Kovac, for his part, prefers deeds over declarations. "I do not like to speak first and then work," he says, smiling. "I think the opposite way is better."