Borussia Dortmund's loss to Borussia Monchengladbach has reignited the debate over the future of coach Niko Kovac, especially with the team's declining results in recent seasons and its inability to consistently compete with Bayern Munich domestically.

The criticisms directed at Kovac are not only about the results but also about the style of play and technical ambition. Many Dortmund fans believe that merely qualifying for the Champions League or finishing the season in second place has become a low ceiling for a club of Dortmund's stature, especially given its strong roster and higher budget compared to clubs that achieve clear successes like Atalanta or even Mönchengladbach.

Kovac's previous experience with Bayern is still used against him today. Despite winning the Bundesliga with the Bavarian club, he was dismissed due to unconvincing performances, before the team later went on to achieve the historic sextuple under new leadership. Therefore, his critics believe that the issue is not just the quality of the players, but also the coach's ability to extract the maximum from the group and create a project capable of genuine competition.

On the other hand, there are those who defend Kovac, arguing that Dortmund has been suffering for years from a lack of administrative stability and frequent changes in the lineup, in addition to the significant economic gap with Bayern. However, a large segment of the fans rejects this justification, considering that persisting with the mentality of "second place is good enough" is the real reason behind the continuation and widening of the gap season after season.