Kovac relies on continuity: Can remains BVB captain
Emre Can will continue to be Borussia Dortmund's captain next season, confirmed by BVB coach Niko Kovac.
He will remain BVB captain next season: Emre Can. IMAGO/Revierfoto
On Wednesday, Borussia Dortmund played their first friendly of their summer preseason, celebrating an 8-1 thrashing of regional league side Sportfreunde Siegen. Emre Can was absent from the Leimbach Stadium; adductor problems had severely slowed the 31-year-old in early July, ultimately forcing him to miss the Club World Cup.
Can is still not fully recovered, which is why he is being rested as a precaution. However, the defensive all-rounder is already certain about one other point: The 31-year-old will lead Borussia Dortmund onto the field as captain again next season. His deputies will also remain unchanged, with Julian Brandt and Nico Schlotterbeck continuing to hold this role next season.
Coach Niko Kovac confirmed this on Wednesday. "It's staying as it is. There's no reason to change anything," the Croatian told Sky , making it clear: "I'm very happy with the choices my predecessors made. The boys are doing very well." Dortmund's first competitive match will be on Monday, August 18, in the DFB Cup against third-division side Rot-Weiss Essen.
In the winter of 2020, Can moved from Juventus Turin to Dortmund and has now made 204 appearances and scored 20 goals for the Westphalian club. The 48-time Germany international has been captain of the Black and Yellows since 2023. Last season, he made 31 Bundesliga appearances for BVB, eight of them as a substitute (three goals, kicker average: 3.48). He also made twelve appearances in the Champions League (two goals, kicker average: 3.09) and two in the DFB-Pokal.
