It is no longer news that Bundesliga club, Borussia Dortmund has parted ways with head coach Lucien Favre after their 5-1 home loss to promoted VfB Stuttgart.
As expected, the club will be looking for another long-term replacement despite putting Favre’s former assistant coach Edin Terzic in charge on an interim basis until the end of the current campaign..
Favre had already led the BVB to the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds as Group F winners, and they are five points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich after 11 rounds of fixtures. The sack of the Swiss came from a run of one win in five games.
Under him, BVB suffered three successive defeats at home in the Bundesliga for the first time since the 2013/14 season during the time of present Liverpool boss, Jürgen Klopp.
“It was a tough decision for us to take. At the same time, we felt we were in danger of not meeting our goals for the season after this difficult phase. That’s why we had to act,” admitted Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc of Favre’s dismissal.
63-year-old Favre joined Dortmund almost two and a half years ago and oversaw 110 matches in all competitions. Under him, Dortmund finished as Bundesliga runners-up in 2018/19 and 2019/20, whilst winning the 2019 Supercup.
With the Champions League group stage done and dusted, Dortmund will now face away games in the Bundesliga against Werder Bremen (15 December) and Union Berlin (18 Dec), before travelling to second-tier Eintracht Braunschweig in the DFB Cup second round, in their final competitive fixture of the calendar year. This might be the games Terzic need to prove himself.
The last time they recorded success was in 2016/17, winning the DFB Cup, under Thomas Tuchel. They haven’t been able to lay their hands on the Bundesliga title since back-to-back title triumphs on Klopp’s watch in 2010/11 and 2011/12.
Lucien Favre: Likely contenders for the role at Borussia Dortmund
Since Dortmund has decided to give Terzic a chance to prove himself till the end of the season, he is automatically one of the favourites to land the job.
But such a smart decision by the Board to allow the assistant to continue from where his former boss stopped give them the chance to search for a long-term replacement for Favre.
However, it won’t be surprising to see Terzic given the booth as well if he fails to prove himself.
Although, BVB board admitted that it was a tough decision to take, sacking Favre in such a manner due to the team’s present form could backfire at the end of the day.
Such sacking means Terzic’s future is not guaranteed if he starts recording unimpressive results.
Meanwhile, reports have it that Borussia Monchengladbach’s coach, Marco Rose could be replacing Favre on a long term basis.
The German media reports that there have been conversations between the coach and the club to a far-reaching level.
It was further gathered that Monchenglabach are already looking for his replacement.
Ralf Rangnick has also been linked with the role. Others mentioned include Mauricio Pochettino, Jesse Marsch, and Julian Nagelsmann.
It is believed that the Bundesliga club would want to hire another coach that will align with their future goal and such a person might come in at the end of the season, provided they interim manager fails to impress.
