BERLIN, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc has extended his contract ahead of scheduled, the Bundesliga club announced in an official statement on Monday.

The 55-year-old sporting director has put pen to paper on a contract extension, which will keep him with the "BVB" until June 2021.

"Despite the win of the German Cup and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League it has been difficult for many reasons in the past year and a half. With that said, I regard it all the more as our common task to bring Borussia Dortmund into calmer waters. We need to make the team fit for the future and establish the club in the UEFA Champions League," Zorc said.

Zorc played only for Dortmund (1981-1998) as a professional football player before he hung up his boots in 1998 to subsequently work for the club's management. In 2005, Zorc was promoted to the position of the sporting director.

"The sporting achievements of the past ten years are closely related with the name Michael Zorc. His name stands for competence, loyalty and identification. I am looking forward to further cooperation," Dortmund's CEO Hanz-Joachim Watzke told the club's official homepage.

During Zorc's tenure the club reaped three Bundesliga titles (2002, 2012, 2013), two German Cups (2012, 2017).

The "BVB" sit currently on the 3rd place of the Bundesliga standings. They clash with runaway leaders and rivals Bayern Munich at the 28th round on Saturday.