BERLIN (Reuters) - Swiss coach Lucien Favre took charge of Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, signing a two year-deal that club bosses hope will mark a change in fortunes for the former Bundesliga champions.
Dortmund parted ways with coach Peter Stoeger at the end of the season after the club finished fourth in the Bundesliga and only narrowly made the Champions League spot on the last match day.
Stoeger's departure capped an inconsistent campaign that began with Dutchman Peter Bosz at the helm before he was sacked midway through the season.
The 60-year-old Favre, nicknamed 'the Brain' for his tactical acumen, left French club Nice two days ago and will return to the Bundesliga following successful spells at Hertha Berlin and Borussia Moenchengladbach.
He led Hertha to a fourth place finish in 2009 and then took Gladbach from the brink of relegation to fourth spot in 2012.
"Signing Lucien Favre as coach is an important part of our sporting new start," said Dortmund sports director Michael Zorc in a statement.
"He is well-respected for his qualities which he has impressively proven at Hertha, Gladbach and recently Nice."
Dortmund, champions in 2011 and 2012 and Champions League finalists in 2013, had expected to once again be title contenders this season but instead saw Bayern Munich race away with the title.
"To coach Borussia Dortmund is an attractive task that I am very happy to take on," Favre, who is fluent in German, said. "Now we will start working on the new team."
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Pritha Sarkar)