BERLIN, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Lucien Favre finds himself ahead of two crucial games. The outcome of the duels against Eintracht Frankfurt in the league, and the last-16-round clash against Paris St Germain could decide his future as head coach of Borussia Dortmund.
Several media reports indicate the Swiss coach is under heavy fire due to his side's defensive weakness. While Bild is reporting the 62-year-old has no future in Dortmund, and his dismissal is a done deal, the sports magazine Kicker says the Black and Yellows should try to avoid giving him the sack before the end of the season.
Rumors have spread that Frankfurt coach Adi Huetter might be a possible successor.
Meanwhile, a controversial debate about the team's profound problems to protect its own goal is ongoing.
A tally of 32 conceded goals are far too much to gain significant success and strive to win the 2019/2020 German Championship.
While Dortmund is seen as the league's most skilful team when it comes to attacking football, they've scored the most goals in the league with 59, problems at the back remain an unresolved issue.
No matter what back-row formation Favre chooses, the team's defensive efforts seem incomplete. Things didn't improve when Favre tried a back-row of three or four.
We need everyone's awareness in the team to protect our goal, Michael Zorc stressed.
The side's management said it is not enough to score goals to win a game. We don't reward ourselves for the intense efforts in many games. We didn't win many games; we had the feeling we should have won them, the former professional emphasized.
Media and fans puzzle over the question of why Favre hasn't managed to solve his team's problems for over a year. Several of Borussia's performers are accused of neglecting an appropriate defensive attitude.
The loss of cornerstone players, such as Julian Brandt and Marco Reus, is impacting the coach's efforts to spark a turnaround.
It is an open secret that Favre needs short-term success to keep the club's leaders such as CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, sporting director Sebastian Kehl and Zorc happy.
Zorc demanded a more robust game style, talking about a dirty approach and using fouls to win three points. Looking at the statistical figures, we have the lowest number of fouls. You don't get anything for that, Zorc complained after the club invested nearly 50 million euros during the last winter break to sign Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and German international Emre Can (Juve).
Favre is complaining about ongoing attacks by the media and says the only solution is work, work, work.
Kicker reported that the Frankfurt game is not a swan song for Favre, but the coach's credit line is getting shorter. To secure his job, the coach has to ensure the team's participation for next season's Champions League campaign, which means to at least end up among the league's top four.
The gap to the table's fifth, Bayer Leverkusen, has dropped down to only two points. Fans now pin their hopes on statistics. Dortmund have won all of their last 28 home games on Friday evenings. Dortmund have scored at least two goals on ten accoasions against Frankfurt.