Lucien Favre Named Borussia Dortmund Manager on 2-Year Contract

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed Lucien Favre as the club's new manager. 

As relayed by the Bundesliga Twitter account, BVB revealed the appointment on Tuesday, with the 60-year-old signing a two-year contract at the Westfalenstadion:

Favre takes over from Peter Stoger, who was brought in midway through the previous campaign following the departure of former Ajax manager Peter Bosz.

The Swiss leaves his role at Nice after two years in charge. In 2016-17, he guided the team into third, earning a shock UEFA Champions League place; at the end of the most recent campaign, they finished eighth in Ligue 1.

Favre also has experience in the Bundesliga, and Dortmund fans will be encouraged by the work he did with Borussia Monchengladbach.

After his appointment in 2011, Favre helped BMG off the bottom of the table and stayed afloat in the top flight via a relegation play-off. He then went on to build a successful team that finished fourth in 2011-12 and third in 2014-15.

As noted below by Squawka Football, the former Hertha Berlin coach has a respectable record across European football:

At Dortmund, he will have a big job to do. While the team were able to finish in fourth last season, there were big issues.

After a bright start to the season Bosz lost his way and was eventually axed. Stoger was brought in as a short-term solution and did little to endear himself to the supporters with a dour style of football. 

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They suffered some disappointing results under his tenure in big games. Dortmund were obliterated 6-1 by Bayern, beaten 2-0 by rivals Schalke and on the last day only scraped into the top four after defeat to Hoffenheim.

Still, football writer Lars Pollman believes there are building blocks in place that will help Dortmund do well under Favre:

Favre's BMG sides were renowned for their counter-attacking prowess. The coach set the side up in a 4-4-2 system, and they were effective when in transition, catching opponents off guard with their sharp interchanges and speed.

Dortmund have players such as Marco Reus and Christian Pulisic who could be devastating if used efficiently in this way, while Jadon Sancho impressed with his blistering pace and trickery late in the campaign.

With that in mind, it's an appointment that makes sense. And after a spell of transition, Dortmund will be hopeful that in Favre they have a safe pair of hands for the next couple of years at least.