 Favre in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1957-11-02)2 November 1957 (age 68) | ||
| Place of birth | Saint-Barthélemy, Switzerland | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1967–1971 | FC Oulens | ||
| 1972–1976 | Lausanne-Sports | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1976–1979 | Lausanne-Sports | 30 | (3) |
| 1979–1981 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 51 | (14) |
| 1981–1983 | Servette | 59 | (28) |
| 1983–1984 | Toulouse | 35 | (7) |
| 1984–1991 | Servette | 134 | (20) |
| Total | 309 | (72) | |
| International career | |||
| 1981–1989 | Switzerland | 24 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1993–1995 | Echallens | ||
| 1997–2000 | Yverdon Sport | ||
| 2000–2002 | Servette | ||
| 2003–2007 | Zürich | ||
| 2007–2009 | Hertha BSC | ||
| 2011–2015 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | ||
| 2016–2018 | Nice | ||
| 2018–2020 | Borussia Dortmund | ||
| 2022–2023 | Nice | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Lucien Favre (French pronunciation:[lysjɛ̃favʁ]; born 2 November 1957) is a Swiss professionalfootball manager and former player who most recently managedLigue 1 clubNice. Favre was aplaymaker for various Swiss and French clubs, the longest forServette, with whom he also won the championship. As a manager, he won theSwiss Cup and theSwiss championship with Servette andZürich. In Germany, Favre also managedHertha BSC andBorussia Mönchengladbach.
At club level, Favre played forLausanne-Sports,Neuchâtel Xamax,Toulouse andServette, earning a reputation as a skillful and intelligentplaymaker. WhenPierre-Albert Chapuisat destroyed his knee in 1985, he could not play for eight months. It's still considered one of the worst fouls in Swiss footballing history.[1] Favre announced his retirement in 1991.
Favre amassed 24 caps for theSwitzerland national team.[2] Notably, he scored his first and only international goal on his debut, netting inZürich against theNetherlands on 1 September 1981 in the same game, in which bothRuud Gullit andFrank Rijkaard also made their first appearance for their respective country. Favre earned his last cap for Switzerland againstPortugal in a 3–1 away loss on 26 April 1989 played inLisbon.
Favre's coaching career started in 1991 as the under-14 assistant manager withEchallens. The following year, he took over the under-17 team before being appointed manager of the first team in 1993. Under his leadership, Favre's young squad surprisingly earned promotion to theNationalliga B. The promotion is still the most outstanding achievement in the club's history.
After four years with Echallens, Favre was named Academy Manager of Neuchâtel Xamax. The move allowed him to experience the overall operation of a professional club.
In January 1997, Favre was appointed manager ofYverdon Sport,[3] who was struggling at the bottom of the Nationalliga B at that stage. In 1999, he guided his side to theNationalliga A. The following season, they unexpectedly achieved fifth-placed finish in the table, still Yverdon's best ranking in the top-flight to date.
In the summer of 2000, Favre decided to joinServette, a long-established club based inGeneva, where he had already won the league as a player. The highlights of his spell in Geneva were a 5–2 league win againstNeuchâtel Xamax,[4] a victory in theSwiss Cup final in 2001,[5] as well as a superb run in theUEFA Cup,[6] after finishing fifth.[7] Servette eliminatedSlavia Prague,Real Zaragoza andHertha BSC (with a 3–0 away win inOlympiastadion), before going out againstValencia (0–3 and 2–2) in the last 16.[6] in the 2001–02 Swiss Cup, Servette forfeit a match 3–0.[8]
In 2003, Favre was appointedZürich manager.[3] His first match as Zürich manager was a 2–1 loss toBasel.[9] In the 2003–04 season, Zürich finished in fifth place, one place below a2004–05 UEFA Cup spot,[10] and lost in the semi–finals of the Swiss Cup 6–5 toGrasshoppers.[11] He won theSwiss Cup in 2005 beatingLuzern in the final.[12] The following season, Zürich ended their 25-year wait for a league title with a dramatic final day victory against Basel to win theSwiss Super League. They were also knocked out of theUEFA Cup in the first round.[13] During the 2006–07 season, Zürich were eliminated from theUEFA Champions League in the second qualifying round.[14] On 29 May 2007, after securing another Swiss title, he was awarded the Swiss Manager of the Year award for the second year in a row.
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On 1 June 2007, GermanBundesliga clubHertha BSC announced that Favre had agreed to sign a three-year deal as its head coach.[15] He started the2007–08 season with a 3–0 win againstSpVgg Unterhaching in the first round of theDFB-Pokal.[16]
During the2008–09 season, he guided Hertha to an excellent fourth-place position,[17] having at his disposal just the 13th-largest budget of the2008–09 Bundesliga. Hertha played in theUEFA Cup[18] and were eliminated in the group stage.[19] In February 2009, one of the highlights of his spell in Germany was the brilliant tactical display of Hertha againstBayern Munich in a full Olympiastadion (almost 75,000 spectators). This performance allowed them to beat the erstwhile reigning German champions 2–1 to take Hertha temporarily top of the Bundesliga. Favre extended his contract for an additional year.
The2009–10 season, however, did not look as promising for Hertha – its increasing financial difficulties prevented them from recruiting efficiently. Furthermore, three of the club's top players left in the summer:Josip Šimunić,Andriy Voronin andMarko Pantelić. At the end of September 2009, Hertha were struggling in the league and Favre was relieved of his duties by the club.[20] Favre's final match was a 5–1 loss to1899 Hoffenheim.[21] Favre finished with a record of 40 wins, 20 draws, and 34 losses.[22]
On 14 February 2011, Favre was named as the successor ofMichael Frontzeck as head coach ofBorussia Mönchengladbach.[23] He took over when the team was sitting at the bottom of the league with only 16 points after 22 match days, seven points adrift of Bundesliga safety.[24] He instigated an immediate improvement in form and although the club still struggled, they eventually managed a narrow win againstVfL Bochum in a two-legged relegation play-off to secure their place in theBundesliga.[25]
In the following season, the team surpassed all expectations by finishing in fourth place, thereby qualifying for the early stages of the2012–13 UEFA Champions League.[26] However, they were beaten in the play-off round byDynamo Kyiv.[27] The team's brand of fluid, counter-attacking football impressed pundits and press alike and was typified by an emphatic double win over Bayern Munich both home and away.[28] Favre's Gladbach were not as successful in the2012–13 Bundesliga, however, falling to eighth.[29] Some suggested that the added weight of playing in Europe coupled with the sales of numerous key players, such asMarco Reus, was to blame for this. The next season saw Gladbach rise to sixth, largely due to the astute signings ofMax Kruse,Raffael andChristoph Kramer.
During the2013–14 season, Borussia Mönchengladbach were knocked out of theDFB-Pokal in the first round[30] whenSV Darmstadt 98 defeated Mönchengladbach in a shoot–out.[31]
The2014–15 Bundesliga season was Favre's most successful season to date, with Gladbach finishing in third place and directly qualifying for the2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage.[32] Favre's side were defensively brilliant and their passing style of play saw them record several notable victories, including a 2–0 away win against Bayern Munich[33] and a comprehensive 3–0 victory at home toBayer Leverkusen[33] that ultimately sealed their qualification to the Champions League.
After losing the first five league games of the2015–16 season, Favre resigned on 20 September 2015.[34] His final match was a 1–0 loss to1. FC Köln the previous day.[35] During his time at Gladbach, Favre revived a fallen giant of football, taking them from certainties for relegation to the pinnacle of world football in the Champions League. Favre finished with a record of 88 wins, 49 draws, and 52 losses.[36]
On 24 May 2016, Favre was appointed asNice manager, replacingClaude Puel.[37] This appointment was widely considered as a coup for Nice by the French media. He brought in only one backroom staff,Adrian Ursea.[38][39] In his first season, Nice, bolstered by striker Mario Balotelli, finished third after leading the league for much of the season, and qualified for the Champions League, their best league position in decades.[40] His second season, however, did not live up to the expectations, as Nice finished 8th, and were eliminated in the Champions League qualifiers.[41] Favre subsequently departed.[42]
On 22 May 2018, Favre was appointed as manager ofBorussia Dortmund, with a contract lasting until 30 June 2020.[43] During his debut season, he became the first-ever manager to remain unbeaten in his first 15 Bundesliga matches with the club.[44] This includes a 4–1 win againstRB Leipzig, a 7–0 win against1. FC Nürnberg, and a 4–0 win againstAtlético Madrid.[45] On 3 August 2019, Dortmund won theGerman Super Cup.[46] He was sacked on 13 December 2020 after a string of poor results, including a 5–1 thumping at home against newly-promotedVfB Stuttgart.[47] Favre finished with a record of 67 wins, 17 draws, and 23 losses.[48]
On 27 June 2022, Favre returned to Nice as manager.[49] His first game in charge was a 1–1 draw withToulouse on 7 August.[2] His first win came on the 31st of said month againstLille 1–2 away from home.[7] Favre was sacked in January 2023 following a 1–0Coupe de France loss to third tier sideLe Puy Foot 43 Auvergne.[50]
Favre's teams play a dynamic, quick and attacking-minded football where ball possession and change of tempo alternate. This attractive style of play has brought results in every club he has managed. Furthermore, Favre is very skillful tactically, leaving his opponents struggling to penetrate his well-organized sides. His teams tend to shoot less than others but have a high conversion rate, also with shots coming from outside the box. Favre likes the opponents conversion rate to be on the low end. His teams stick out at the wrong end ofexpected goals statistics. Favre has a reputation of predicting well how opposing teams, coaches or players tend to react in certain situations. To play this style Favre pays attention to details and technique especially one-to-one.[51][52][53][54][55]
Favre is also well known for his ability to develop talented young players and introduce them into the first team. Under his leadership,Blerim Džemaili,Almen Abdi,Steve von Bergen andGökhan Inler all made their debut with the Switzerland national team before signing for foreign clubs. In 2007, Zürich became Swiss champions with an average age of 21.5 years. He is also credited with raising the game of German starletMarco Reus, whose fine performances procured a call up to theGermany national team and a high-priced move to league champions Borussia Dortmund;Marc-André ter Stegen, who eventually joinedBarcelona; and Christoph Kramer. Another example of his ability to develop youngsters into widely sought after, talented players is seen inGranit Xhaka, who initially struggled when he joined Gladbach but, under Favre's tutelage, eventually thrived, becoming one of the best central midfielders in Germany and sealing a move toArsenal for a fee reported to be in excess of €30 million.
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Servette | 1 July 2000[3] | 30 June 2002[3] | 83 | 34 | 26 | 23 | 040.96 | |
| Zürich | 1 July 2003[3] | 1 June 2007[15] | 169 | 94 | 33 | 42 | 055.62 | |
| Hertha BSC | 1 June 2007[15] | 28 September 2009[20] | 94 | 40 | 20 | 34 | 042.55 | [22] |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 14 February 2011[23] | 20 September 2015[34] | 189 | 88 | 49 | 52 | 046.56 | [36] |
| Nice | 24 May 2016[37] | 20 May 2018 | 99 | 42 | 24 | 33 | 042.42 | |
| Borussia Dortmund | 22 May 2018 | 13 December 2020 | 110 | 68 | 18 | 24 | 061.82 | [48] |
| Nice | 27 June 2022 | 9 January 2023 | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 030.77 | |
| Total | 770 | 374 | 179 | 217 | 048.57 | — | ||
Servette
Individual
Echallens
Yverdon Sport
Servette
Zürich
Borussia Dortmund
Individual
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |