3 potential managerial replacements for Lucian Favre at Borussia Dortmund

With Borussia Dortmund struggling for results, sporting director Michael Zorc warned under-fire coach, Lucien Favre of the consequences, if there wasn’t an immediate upturn in form. Zorc told Funke Sport,

"Our situation is more than unsatisfactory. We are analysing things very intensively, but we are going into the game in Barcelona with Lucien Favre and expect to see a clear improvement in performance there."

Pressure has been building on the Swiss coach amid their poor domestic form. Five draws and two losses from their opening 12 fixtures see the club sit sixth in the Bundesliga.

A 4-0 thrashing at Bayern Munich two weeks ago was followed by a woeful display against bottom of the league side Paderborn, as Dortmund had to come from three goals down to rescue a draw in the second half.

According to Bild, sporting director Michael Zorc and CEO Hans Joachim Watzke held a crisis meeting after the game against Paderborn, during which it was decided that the Swiss coach would be given one final game to save his Dortmund career.

With yet another disappointing result against Barcelona, Favre’s long-term suitability as head coach will now come under tight scrutiny.

Therefore, let’s look at three potential options Dortmund could pursue in the event of Favre’s potential sack from the Signal Iduna Park.

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#1 Roger Schmidt

Amid Dortmund’s struggle under current coach Favre, Schmidt appears as an appealing alternative

The 52-year-old has been out of work since he left Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan in July 2019.

Schmidt was headhunted by Bayer Leverkusen after did the league and cup double with Red Bull Salzburg in 2014.

His brand of extreme and intense pressing football created waves in Germany, steering the club to successive top four finishes in his three years in-charge at Leverkusen.

Schmidt’s 4-2-4 pressing formation would fit in well with the personnel available in Dortmund's first-team squad. Undoubtedly, the clear front-runner for Favre’s job.

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#2 Nico Kovac

It might be something of an internal struggle for Kovac to take over at Dortmund due to his Bayern ties.

The former Bayern Munich boss only left the Bavarian giants in November, but could he afford to turn down a chance to manage Dortmund if they came calling?

The Croatian earned admirers during his time at Frankfurt and Bayern Munich. He has a very impressive track record in the Bundesliga, winning the DFB Pokal with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2017-18, before winning a domestic double with Bayern Munich last season.

If that's not enough, he’s still young at 48 years of age, has experience of dealing with inflated egos in the dressing room and only lost 41 of his 156 matches at the helm.

However, his conflict with Mats Hummels that led to the center back’s return to Dortmund this summer could prove to be tricky.

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#3 Mauricio Pochettino

Definitely an outsider for the role but one who may be considered

The Argentine does have plenty going for him. The 48-year-old has done an excellent job at Tottenham since he took over from Tim Sherwood in May, 2014.

Mauricio Pochettino spent five years in charge at Tottenham and won 159 of his 293 games at the helm.

Last season probably cemented Pochettino’s reputation as one of football’s brightest young coaches. His side’s march to the Champions League finals was a fantastic achievement and that to with a substantially meagre budget.

His attacking, free flowing philosophy, ability to bring talented youngsters through a club's academy must make the Argentine a surefire favourite to land the managerial post.

However, his lack of silverware is cause for concern.