He most recently worked for Liverpool FC: Niko Kovac is apparently set to get reinforcement at Borussia Dortmund

According to Sport Bild, Roderick van der Ham is set to sign soon. The 35-year-old Dutchman most recently worked for Liverpool, but left the club during a major personnel overhaul at the same time as head coach Arne Slot. His successor Andoni Iraloa brought in his own backroom staff.

Van der Ham started his coaching career in Dutch youth football at the age of 16. He later worked as a video analyst for RKC Waalwijk, NAC Breda and Heracles Almelo. From 2018 to 2019, he held the same role with the Netherlands Under-19 national team.

Then in 2022, van der Ham joined Slot's coaching staff at Feyenoord Rotterdam. A few months after Slot moved to Liverpool in 2024, he followed him to the Premier League as a video analyst. All told, van der Ham spent around a year and a half with the Reds and won the Premier League in 2025.

BVB: A new groundsman is also set to arrive

At BVB, he is set to work with coach Niko Kovac as chief analyst. Kovac's assistants are his brother Robert, Filip Tapalovic and Stephen Rands. Matthias Kleinsteiber is the goalkeeping coach. The report adds that a second new arrival is also coming from England alongside van der Ham, groundsman Scott Tingley. He most recently looked after Watford's pitch for more than ten years.

Back from a pre-season trip to Japan, the Dortmund contingent returned on Sunday and are now preparing for the new season at home. On Sunday, BVB face Arsenal in a friendly. Their first competitive match is on 22 August in the Super Cup against double winners Bayern Munich. Hamburger SV then visit Dortmund on the 29th for the opening Bundesliga match, before they face HEBC Hamburg in the first round of the DFB Cup on 1 September.

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