Favre, Nagelsmann and the candidates to replace Tuchel at Dortmund

Thomas Tuchel’s spell in charge of Borussia Dortmund came to an abrupt end on Tuesday as the Bundesliga side decided to part ways with their head coach with immediate effect.

The former Mainz boss led Dortmund to a second-place finish in his first season at Signal Iduna Park, before guiding them to third this term despite the departure of high-profile names such as Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

To cap it all off, the 43-year-old celebrated DFB-Pokal glory at the weekend as BVB beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 in the final in Berlin.

It was not enough to save Tuchel, though, as his strained relationship with the club’s board of directors, including CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, cost him his job, with a number of key players allegedly unhappy with his approach to further increase the pressure on his position.

Tuchel had the best points-per-game ratio of all Dortmund coaches in the Bundesliga, amassing 2.1 per match, and they face a tough task to find a replacement who can fill his void.

We take a look at some of the candidates for the vacant position at the German giants.

LUCIEN FAVRE – NICE

Favre started his coaching career in his native Switzerland at Echallens and also enjoyed spells with Yverdon Sport, Servette and Zurich before making a name for himself in the Bundesliga at Hertha Berlin. A fourth-placed finish in 2008-09 was the highlight of his career in the German capital, but he was eventually released early in the subsequent season following an underwhelming start. 

He returned to the German top flight in February 2011 when he was named Borussia Monchengladbach boss, preventing the drop to the 2. Bundesliga in his first year, only to then turn BMG into a force to be reckoned with again, eventually culminating in Champions League football. The 59-year-old resigned at the start of last season after they lost their opening five fixtures.

Favre somewhat surprisingly accepted the job as Nice boss ahead of the 2016-17 campaign and led them to third place in the table, ahead of the likes of Lyon and Marseille.

He has a contract with the Ligue 1 side until 2019 but was strongly linked with Dortmund as speculation mounted over Tuchel’s departure in the closing weeks of the season.

JULIAN NAGELSMANN – HOFFENHEIM

Nagelsmann has built a reputation as the boy wonder of the German coaching scene with his sublime work at Hoffenheim. The 29-year-old worked his way up from the club’s Under-17 team to the senior side, of which he took charge in February 2016.

He miraculously steered the club away from the relegation zone in his first year at the helm, before really showing what he is made of this term.

Hoffenheim fought for the top spots right from the start of the season and they were eventually rewarded with fourth place in the table, enough to qualify for the Champions League play-offs for the first time in the club’s history.

Like Favre, Nagelsmann is under contract with his current club until the end of the 2018-19 campaign.

PETER STOGER – COLOGNE

Stoger has been working at Cologne since June 2013 and has done a fine job turning them from a 2. Bundesliga side into a stable top-flight team over the past four years.

The 51-year-old led Cologne to the 2. Bundesliga title in his first season and has seen his side improve year after year from there on.

They came in 12th in their first year back in the top flight, then finished ninth the following season and Stoger did the unthinkable this campaign by leading them to Europa League qualification.

Stoger has previously enjoyed success in Austria, winning the title with Austria Wien in 2012-13.

NIKO KOVAC – EINTRACHT FRANKFURT

Kovac arrived in March 2016 as Eintracht Frankfurt looked to avoid the drop to the 2. Bundesliga and they eventually succeeded after seeing off Nurnberg in the relegation play-off.

The 45-year-old then saw his side take the next step this campaign as they put in a string of hugely impressive performances before the winter break and were sitting third after 20 games.

They slipped down the table in the closing months of the season as they were struck by misfortune and injuries, but also reached the DFB-Pokal final, where Dortmund eventually proved to be too strong.

The former Croatia boss signed a contract renewal until 2019 back in December.

PETER BOSZ – AJAX

Bosz returned to the Netherlands ahead of the 2016-17 campaign to take charge of Ajax after a brief spell abroad with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The 53-year-old is renowned for his attacking style of play and although he was often criticised for his “kamikaze tactics” while at Heracles and Vitesse, his philosophy is a perfect fit for Ajax, where he is contracted until 2019.

The Amsterdammers were unfortunate to miss out on the Eredivisie title, with Feyenoord eventually just too strong, but they impressed on the continent as they saw off Schalke and Lyon on their way to the Europa League final.

Manchester United were too good in Stockholm, but there is no denying Bosz’s time at the club has been a success so far, regardless of the lack of trophies.