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Jürgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and Peter Bosz each played their last game as Borussia Dortmund coach against Werder Bremen. On Tuesday, BVB will compete at Weser, and this time the coach had to leave earlier.
Lucien Favre will no longer be responsible for this game. The coach and the club ended their cooperation on Sunday, the desperate performance at 1: 5 against VfB Stuttgart the day before was the deciding factor.
There were days in the nearly 30 months of collaboration when the ending would have been a little less surprising. Circa November 2019, after an embarrassing 3: 3 against SC Paderborn, which was preceded by one of these bitter defeats at Bayern.
But BVB won the next game at Hertha, even though they were outnumbered by half. The switch to a three-way chain had been successful. But it quickly emerged that Favre, a defender of the back four, had to be pushed to his fate.
Favre remained Favre
Favre’s time at BVB is a history of commitments. The Dortmunders knew that after a turbulent season with Bosz and Peter Stöger, they were getting an excellent soccer teacher and impeccable people.
They accepted that they would get an indecisive coach. Borussia Dortmund’s claims, which are significantly higher than those of his former Bundesliga clubs Hertha BSC and Borussia Mönchengladbach, had always been too high for him.
There have been many attempts to defeat Favre. In the summer of 2019, on a public relations tour in the United States, the coach seemed convinced to sell the championship as a goal. But after the first setback it turned out that Favre was still Favre.
Another definition of success
He was always true to himself. The “BVB decision makers”, who, according to the announcement, spoke “unanimously” in favor of the exemption, remained true to themselves. You would have liked to get rid of the doubts, but Favre stayed one for second place, who stands in front of the last step like a climber in front of a three-meter-high wall, smooth as a mirror.
“We had two very successful years and we have a team that would also have had a successful season this year,” Favre said at the farewell. Their definition of “successful” (two second places in the Bundesliga, twice eliminated in the knockout stages of the Champions League, twice in the knockout stages of the DFB Cup) is different from BVB’s. The early failure in the “life and death games” fueled doubts.
Favre was always loyal. He never asked for anything, neither support nor new players. The fact that he only got a second center forward with 16-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko due to biological progress is a failure of decision makers. It became apparent when Erling Haaland got hurt.
Did the players still trust him?
Favre defended his “false forwards” Marco Reus, Julian Brandt and Thorgan Hazard. The fact that those on the front lines never felt good and in good hands was ultimately their downfall.
The fact that Jadon Sancho lost class and pace after an outstanding season this season, Favre excused himself with the age of the Englishman. An excellent plot, but overall, it was too many players of all ages who got out of hand in the end.
If the players (still) trusted their coach, trusted him to get back on track, is a question that can only be answered within the team and the club’s inner circle.
Terzić’s successor has a different public appearance
Edin Terzić will know. The 38-year-old Croatian, born in Sauerland, was a member of Favre’s staff. He replaced the Swiss when he had to stay home sick. His public appearance was very different from the appearances of Favre, who often struggled to find the words and then often only found the same ones.
Edin Terzić (second from left) takes over as coach at BVB
Photo: FRIEDEMANN VOGEL / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
When he said on Saturday after the Stuttgart game that the team had to “make a sign” in Bremen, the audience was shocked because he had never said that before. He suggested that something was different.
The quick separation was a bit surprising. Also the successor, because Enrico Maaßen of the Regionalliga team has long been the favorite for Favre’s successor. Terzić is closer to the team than Maaßen, according to the club.
How close Favre was to her in the end remains an open question.
