Nice sack Favre after Coupe de France upset

Nice have sacked coach Lucien Favre after exiting the Coupe de France to third-tier Le Puy Foot.

Favre returned to the Ligue 1 club for a second stint in charge in June 2022 as they invested ahead of the new season.

The former Borussia Dortmund boss had guided Nice to Champions League qualification in 2016-17, but his latest spell did not yield the same success.

Despite making a series of high-profile signings, including Aaron Ramsey, Ross Barkley and Kasper Schmeichel, Nice are down in 11th in Ligue 1.

The final straw for Favre was Saturday’s cup elimination at the hands of lower-league opposition, with Nice winless since the World Cup break.

Didier Digard will take charge of Nice “until further notice”, with a Ligue 1 double-header against Montpellier and Reims this week.

A Nice statement added of Favre: “As the two parties now go their separate ways, everyone at the club would like to show him the utmost respect, as he will remain a special member of the Rouge et Noir family, with the 2016-17 season having left an indelible mark in the hearts of Le Gym fans everywhere.”

Favre became the second Ligue 1 coach to be removed from his post on Monday, following Julien Stephan’s dismissal at Strasbourg.

9 – The number of teams to change coach at least once in the same Ligue 1 season in history:

2004/05 – 11
2015/16 – 10
2022/23 – 9 (so far)

Turnover. pic.twitter.com/98USN2lDsf

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) January 9, 2023