By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Lucien Favre is a cautious man. The valuable experience he has gained in his coaching career might be the reason for this caution. While Borussia Dortmund fans are dreaming of winning, the Swiss coach is insisting that now is not the time to celebrate.
However, the club's current position couldn't be more promising. There is a real chance they could pick up a trophy this season, for the first time since winning the Bundesliga in 2011 and 2012.
After the tenth round of matches, the Black and Yellows are top of the league, four points ahead of their most dangerous rival Bayern Munich. In their Champions League group, the 2012 German Champion (9 points) are in a good position of securing their progress to the knock-out stage when facing Atletico Madrid (6 points) this Tuesday evening.
In their home game, Dortmund thrashed the Spanish giants 4-0.
Favre has set a new club record after remaining unbeaten in his 15 games. Current Paris St Germain coach Thomas Tuchel only managed 14 in the 2015/2016 season. Dortmund has scored 30 goals in its previous ten games.
But Favre is far from going overboard. Asked how he would celebrate his team's latest success, Favre said that they had "done fairly well so far, but we are still far from perfect. Looking at the week lying ahead of us, we have to face two of Europe's top clubs."
Following Atletico this Tuesday, next up will be the reigning German Champions Bayern Munich. Within the space of seven days, the league leaders could lay the foundations for a successful season. Favre however doesn't want to endanger the team's progress and is banning any celebrations.
In contrast to Bayern, Dortmund is on a good way to rejuvenating its squad even though the club's leaders only spent 49.5 million euro for new players. Favre has managed to combine the creativity and speed of the team's youngsters with the leadership skills of the experienced campaigners. The club is praising his ability to get everyone toeing the line and creating a unique team atmosphere.
Experienced players like the German international Marco Reus, Danish international Thomas Delaney, and the Belgian international Axel Witsel are responsible for the side's balance and tactical timing. He has also managed to reintegrate problem cases like Mario Goetze.
Several youngsters like former Manchester City striker Jaden Sancho, Swiss international Manuel Akanji, Abdou Diallo, Dan-Axel Zagadou, US international Christian Pulisic, former Real Madrid attacker Achraf Hakimi and Dane Jacob Bruun Larsen stand for Dortmund's youthful nonchalance.
A vital reason for the success is that Favre can count on a newly formed squad. In addition the club has managed to get over the turbulence caused by the departure of coaches such as Tuchel and Dutchman Peter Bosz.
Next to his valuable sensitivity when forming a new team, Favre can count on an excellent team structure after Andre Schuerrle (Fulham), Sokratis (Arsenal) and Andriy Yarmolenko (West Ham United) left to join Premier League clubs. Gonzales Castro also left for league rivals VfB Stuttgart.
Favre's biggest achievement seems to be that of helping striker star Reus become a consistent top performer. Dortmund is benefitting immensely from the 29-year-old who has scored nine goals and provided nine assists.
"We're currently seeing the best Reus ever," Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke commented. In contrast to previous four years when he suffered a number of serious injuries, Reus has managed to stay fit.
One of Favre's first steps after taking the Dortmund job was to appoint Reus as the captain. And Favre gave him his favorite position, just behind the front line, allowing him to the space he was able to find.
Like Favre, Reus is said to be ready to win his first major title. But first Dortmund, Reus, and Favre have to survive a challenging week.
