It was quiet about him recently, now former Bundesliga coach Lucien Favre has officially announced the end of his career.
Almost three years after his last involvement in professional football, the Swiss said in an interview with the daily newspaper “Blick”: “It’s good for me the way it is. I decided a long time ago because I felt: everything has been done, it’s enough.”
The now 68-year-old was on the sidelines in Germany at Hertha BSC (2007-2009), Borussia Mönchengladbach (2011-2015) and Borussia Dortmund (2018-2020). After his time at BVB, Favre was coach at OGC Nice for another six months, where he oversaw his last game at the beginning of January 2023 before the French club parted ways with him.
No desire to still be on the pitch at 70 years old
After that, there were repeated inquiries from Europe and also Saudi Arabia. “I politely declined because it’s definitely finished”said Favre: “My decision is the right one, I’m more convinced of it than ever. Otherwise you’ll still be on the pitch at 70. I’ve done enough, it’s enough!”
The former national player from French-speaking French-speaking Switzerland was brought into the Bundesliga by Hertha; He initially led the capital city team to stay in the league and a season later into the Europa League. Then he had to leave in September 2009 after a false start.
Cult status Mönchengladbach
Favre’s longest stint as a coach was in Mönchengladbach, where he achieved cult status. There he initially avoided relegation to the 2nd league during a major rescue mission and only one season later led the “Foals” to qualify for the Champions League. In two seasons, Borussia competed under him in the Europa League, and in his last season even in the European premier class. This ended for Favre in September when he resigned after a botched start to the season.
Favre then returned to the Bundesliga and Champions League with Dortmund. In the 2018/19 season he narrowly missed winning the championship with BVB after the club had dominated the first half of the season. Looking back, Favre said that the loss of Marco Reus in the second half of the season was a decisive factor: “The best player was suddenly no longer there.” When assessing this season, Reus’ failure was completely forgotten by many experts: “It wasn’t a detail, it was a huge problem.” Favre summed up: “I don’t have to blame myself: I did the best I could. It’s a shame, but I have to accept it.”