Borussia Dortmund, news and rumours: "Deeply saddened" Niko Kovac cancels interview after news of Peter Hermann's death

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BVB, news: Niko Kovac cancels interview with Sportstudio

"At this point we had actually planned to speak with BVB coach Niko Kovac. But he cancelled on us at short notice because shortly beforehand he had learned of the death of his long-time companion and assistant coach Peter Hermann," presenter Katrin Müller-Hohenstein said late on Saturday evening on ZDF's Aktuelles Sportstudio.

Kovac had already given a remarkable interview on broadcaster Sky after the top match of the fourth Bundesliga matchday. Presenter Sebastian Hellmann only learned of Hermann's death during the conversation with Kovac and TV pundits Lothar Matthäus and Julia Simic, then passed the news on to his guests. BVB's 1-0 win through a goal from Maximilian Beier, and Dortmund going top of the table for the first time since May 2023, suddenly faded into the background.

"It leaves me a little short of breath. One or two months ago I was still trying to speak to him, that was no longer possible at all," said Kovac, who was visibly deeply moved by the news. Back then, the BVB coach said, Hermann's daughter had answered the phone. "Unfortunately his illness was incurable. I am deeply saddened, a good person has left us."

Across spells with various clubs, Hermann worked as an assistant coach in more than 1,000 games. His career took him to BVB, Bayern Munich, 1. FC Nuremberg, Schalke 04, Hamburg SV, Bayer Leverkusen and the Germany national team, and he shaped German football over decades.

After the game, Kovac added at the press conference, fighting back tears: "From me and also from my brother, our sincere condolences to Peter's family. A great man has left us. Not only as an assistant coach in Munich, but also as assistant coach when I was still a player in Leverkusen. Really a shock."

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BVB, rumour: New details on VfB interest in Silva

VfB Stuttgart explored a move for Borussia Dortmund's Fabio Silva in the summer of 2025, as Stuttgart board member for sport Fabian Wohlgemuth recently confirmed. Why the deal ultimately fell through, though, initially remained unclear.

Now Bild claims to know the background: according to the report, Stuttgart decided against a transfer because they considered the player too injury-prone and there was also no acute need in that position at the time.

Silva instead moved from Wolverhampton Wanderers to BVB for a transfer fee of 22 million euros. This season, the 24-year-old has four goals from six games.

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BVB, news: Curious incident involving Ryerson

Julian Ryerson suffered a bizarre mishap in the game against VfB Stuttgart on Saturday evening. The Borussia Dortmund right-back had to play briefly in torn shorts.

It happened after a challenge with Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling midway through the second half. As he tried to nick the ball away from Ryerson, the VfB player tore his opponent's shorts.

Ryerson repeatedly signalled that he needed to change them, but the bench did not react at first. Only after a few minutes could the Norwegian change his shorts on the touchline and carry on without any further disruption.

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