FIFA Club World Cup: Dortmund Coach Explains Why It Was Hard to Play Against Sundowns

Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac has explained why it was difficult to play against Mamelodi Sundowns after guiding his side to a 4-3 win over the Premier Soccer League giants at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The former Bayern Munich coach analysed how technical Miguel Cardoso's side are and shared why he was not surprised they had a tough time playing against them.

Kovac reflects on facing Sundowns

In an interview after the match, Kovac claimed he was not lying about Sundowns being a technical side as he saw how they played.

“I wasn’t lying during the press conference yesterday—I said what I genuinely saw,” Kovač said. “Sundowns are a team that loves to play football. They’re technically very well-coached, and you can see the influence of their Portuguese manager in the way they approach the game.”

He continued:

“It’s easy to say on paper that we were the favourites, but football is played on the pitch. We did that, and it was a very difficult match. I’m convinced Sundowns' next game will also be a tight contest.”

Looking ahead to Sundowns’ clash with Fluminense, he added:

“Fluminense are a good team, but in my opinion, Sundowns can challenge them. They can press them and compete—we’ll see how that game plays out.”

Kovač also addressed questions about Borussia Dortmund’s high defensive line, which was exposed multiple times by Sundowns attackers, particularly Tashreeq Matthews and Lucas Ribeiro Costa.

“Yes, we did struggle with the high line at times,” he admitted. “Opponents analyze our games and try to exploit any weaknesses they find. But we’ve always played this way—it’s part of our identity.”

“It wouldn’t make sense to change what has brought us success. We know teams will try to play in behind, which is why we rely on our goalkeeper to act as a sweeper. That’s part of our system and our habits—our automatisms.”

“Of course, we need to defend the space behind a bit better, adjust our body positioning, and refine the details. But overall, we’ll keep playing our way, because it works for us.”

Source: Briefly News