Stand: 30.05.2022
Roland Virkus, sports director of Borussia Mönchengladbach, looks around.
Source: Marius Becker/dpa
Lucien Favre’s return was already considered certain, but the preferred candidate is now canceling Borussia Mönchengladbach. Sports director Virkus announces this bitter news at the general meeting. Economically, the club is thinking about new ways.
FBundesliga soccer club Borussia Mönchengladbach has to restart its search for a coach. Desired candidate Lucien Favre surprisingly canceled his ex-club. This was announced by sports director Roland Virkus at the Borussia general meeting on Monday evening when asked by a member. «You can be sure that we have done everything for it. But he told us that he has the rhombus in his heart but does not want to work in Germany again, »said Virkus, who had previously asked for patience when it came to coaching in his annual report.
“I don’t want to put the brakes on euphoria. But we haven’t made good decisions in the past,” Virkus said. “Unfortunately, I can’t tell you more about that.”
Favre’s commitment as the successor to Adi Hütter, who was on leave, was already considered almost certain. The official confirmation dragged on. Virkus said nothing about the reasons for the cancellation.
The 64-year-old Swiss Favre had already worked for Gladbach between 2011 and 2015, initially saving the club from relegation in the relegation and later leading it to the Champions League. Favre has been without a club since his leave of absence from Borussia Dortmund at the end of 2020.
According to Virkus, Borussia had “various talks with several candidates” after Hütter separated. “We will now push it and want to do it as quickly as possible. But it is essential to make a very good decision here.”
Financially, too, there was no good news for the members. For the second time in a row, Borussia recorded a double-digit million loss. In the past financial year 2021, the loss was 14.6 million euros, mainly due to corona. In the 2020 financial year, the pandemic had already caused a loss of a good 16.7 million euros. “In a league comparison given the size of our club, this is still a very respectable result,” said financial director Stephan Schippers. As a result of the losses, equity capital shrank from over 100 million euros to just around 72 million euros in the past two years.
According to Schippers, new economic paths such as strategic partnerships are therefore being discussed. “You have to be open to everything. But everything in its own time. Everything has to fit,” said Schippers on the sidelines of the event, but ruled out an IPO: “There is no IPO in the house.” Schippers had previously shown himself to be at least willing to discuss in a media round: “We also have to see how Dortmund did it, Dortmund is a traditional club, we are a traditional club – and yet Borussia Dortmund is listed on the stock exchange.”
