For Borussia Dortmund -Coach Kovac, the German cup is the shortest road to a title

Borussia Dortmund has to start his German cup campaign on Monday with a commander version against the third club Rot-Weiss Essen, where the inland competition is the shortest road to a title, said coach Niko Kovac on Friday.

Dortmund starts the domestic season with the first round game on Monday, while the opponents already have two league games in the third division under their belt.

«We want to move forward. We play a club of the Third Division, who play away, with a good atmosphere,» Kovac told a press conference. «We will have to work, but we have clear goals to improve. The shortest way to the title is the German cup.»

Dortmund will also compete in this season’s Champions League after last season to finish fourth. The Bundesliga season starts next week with Dortmund, who travels to St Pauli in eight days.

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«It is always an advantage if you have two competitive matches under your belt,» said the coach of their cup opponents Essen. «We are now in the third training week. I am not saying that we have no benefit. Exactly the opposite. But they have already played 90 consecutive minutes (a few) consecutive minutes.»

Kovac’s Dortmund had a short preparation this season after reaching the quarterfinals in the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States in July.

«We would have desired a few weeks of preparation for work. We are happy that we are part of the Club World Cup … And there are no alibis. We know the responsibility we have,» he said.

«It’s a third team, but it’s a professional team,» said Kovac. «We will take them very seriously and then we have the chance to continue. If we think it will come naturally, it can be a very difficult evening.»