By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund's coach Lucien Favre is under fire after his club's fortunes were turned upside down with a disastrous 4-2 defeat against Schalke 04.
Fans and club officials find themselves in a controversial debate over crucial questions: Can the Swiss manager deliver enough passion to create a champion team? And is Dortmund's inexperienced team strong enough to challenge Bayern Munich?
The 2018/19 Bundesliga title race appears like a wild ride on a rollercoaster, after Dortmund's rivals Bayern Munich missed the chance to increase their lead after a disappointing draw against Nurnberg with now only three matches to go.
Favre has been accused of giving up too early after hoisting the white flag by announcing that the title race is now over. The Dortmund coach was contradicted by Borussia officials such as CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and managing director Michael Zorc.
"It is far too early to raise the white flag. I want our fans to know we won't give up until it is definitely done," Watzke underlined. Zorc reminded the Bundesliga outfit that there is still a chance to win the title despite the side being two points behind the Bayern.
Former Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder Dietmar Hamann attacked Favre, saying: "It was a mistake to hail Bayern as the champions already. He should have said: "We lost the game against Schalke, so what? We are still in the race. Let's take the chance"."
Pundits and fans now discuss Favre's ability to awaken his team's ambitions as he lost most of the team's key games this season, such as the round of 16 in the German Cup (7-5 on penalties against Werder Bremen), the Champions League (4-0 on aggregate against Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur) and the Bundesliga duel against Bayern (5-0).
Results such as these have contributed to Dortmund throwing away a nine-point lead the team had held last November.
Dortmund's run-in against Werder Bremen, Fortuna Dusseldorf and Borussia Moenchengladbach is said to be easier than Bayern's matches against Hannover 96, RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Football magazine Kicker noted that Favre's excessive prudence is inhibiting the team's progress. His starting XI against Schalke was considered to be far too defensive, and sent the wrong message for a squad still lacking experience and dependent on strong leadership from its coach.
The critical situation was worsened by the red card of team captain Marco Reus, who will most likely be banned for two of the three remaining games.
Watzke tried to ease the tensions by saying that Favre's statement was made under intense pressure right after a painful defeat against Schalke, but fans doubt the influence of Watzke's attempt to support his coach. Munich-based news magazine Focus reminded its readers of Favre's unsuccessful attempts to win a title with Hertha BSC, Moenchengladbach and French outfit Nice.
The tabloid Bild asked: "Can a team win a title when their coach has lost his faith?"
The battle for the German title remains a nail-biter until the end of the season. In this confusing situation, an unexpected ray of hope for a frustrated Dortmund side was ironically delivered by their main rival. "We will see many unexpected results until the race is over," said Niko Kovac. The Bayern Munich coach's statement should be encouraging enough for his Dortmund counterpart to change his mind.
