The Daily Bee (February 4th, 2021): Lucien Favre to Marseille?

Good morning friends!

The DFB Pokal Quarter Finalists are Set

The quarter-finalists for the DFB Pokal are now set, with VfL Wolfsburg, RB Leipzig, Jahn Regensburg, and Borussia Mönchengladbach joining Borussia Dortmund, Rot-Weiss Essen, Holstein Kiel, and Werder Bremen in the next round. The top flight sides, Wolfsburg, Gladbach, and RB Leipzig all got the job done in normal time, and RB Leipzig did so in particularly impressive fashion, smashing Vfl Bochum 4-0. The 2. Bundesliga side, Jahn Regensburg, on the other hand, needed penalties to do it, beating FC Koln 4-3 on penalties after drawing 2-2 in normal time and remaining tied in extra time.

The draw for the quarter-finals won’t take place until the 7th February, but there’s a clear group of teams we’d prefer to face in the next round. Rot-Weiss Essen and Holstein Kiel are the lowest ranked teams of the 8 left in the cup, followed by Jahn Regensburg. Any of those would do nicely, though all of them have shown what happens if you take them lightly, having beaten the likes of Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, and FC Koln. After the scare that Paderborn gave us this week, I would hope BVB have learned their lesson. At the other end of the scale, I think we’d like to avoid RB Leipzig and Werder Bremen. RB Leipzig are the toughest team BVB could face, of the remaining teams, and Werder Bremen have a habit of pissing in our cornflakes.

Lucien Favre to Marseille

Lucien Favre was sacked after a dismal 5-1 loss to Stuttgart, seemingly losing the dressing room, and ending his time at the helm at BVB with a bit of a whimper. That has the potential to harm a manager’s reputation long-term. However, Favre might have come out of the whole situation looking pretty good, in hindsight, given BVB’s struggles since his departure. So perhaps it is no surprise to hear that he is already being lined up for another management role, with Olympique Marseille interested in a dose of daddy’s finest in the near future. Things have turned sour between l’OM and their current manager Andre Vilas-Boas, and while it looks like he will see out the remainder of the season, they are already looking around for the next guy.

Téléfoot’s Simone Rovera reports that Favre is top of the l’OM wishlist.

Similar reports from France Football and L’Équipe indicates that Favre to Marseille is a very real possibility, though L’Équipe also suggest that Maurizio Sarri and Rafael Benitez are in the running too.

As much as Favre’s time as Dortmund manager was contentious, he is a really nice guy, and I wish him well, so hopefully he gets this job as Marseille manager.

BVB Interested in Dragowski, Depay, and... Delaney

As one silly season ends, another silly season starts. There is always some rumor circulating linking big clubs like Borussia Dortmund to some player. Most of the rumors turn out to be nonsense, but that doesn’t stop us treating them like the real deal and wasting energy talking about them.

In the last couple days, BVB have been linked to several different goalkeepers, and Fiorentina’s #1, Dragowski, can now be added to that list. While there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of weight to these rumors, there is at least sufficient chatter that Dragowski’s agent felt the need to respond.

Another rumor that has popped up since the closing of the January window has been the possibility that BVB are in for Lyon’s Memphis Depay. This one has been simmering for a while now, and given the persistence of this rumor, I suspect there’s some truth to it. Sport Bild reports that Borussia are already preparing for Jadon Sancho’s departure, and Memphis Depay is one of the names being considered to fill his boots, along with Donyell Malen.

In addition to shopping for reinforcements, Sport Bild reports, in the same article, that BVB will be looking to extend Marwin Hitz, Felix Passlack, and Thomas Delaney. Hitz is a solid backup, and Delaney has been putting in some excellent performances so far this season. I’m less convinced by the idea of renewing Passlack though.

The Daily Buzz

What constitutes a “classic” breakfast where you are from? Give me your delicious breakfast ideas, I haven’t eaten yet.