It's been a rollercoaster of a year for fans of Borussia Dortmund.
They lost four stars in last summer's transfer window. Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan, Henrikh Mhiktaryan & Jakub Błaszczykowski all found new clubs.
They finished third in the Bundesliga and had a quarter-final exit in the Champions League. This was cushioned somewhat by a DFB Pokal victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
There was also the considerable matter of their bus being attacked prior to the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Monaco.
The year culminated with two major departures - one confirmed and another looking highly likely. Thomas Tuchel was relieved of his duties as head coach on Tuesday. This was followed by reports that star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is almost certain to leave for Ligue 1 and PSG.
In an open letter to the fans, CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has outlined the reasoning behind Tuchel's exit as head coach - he hasn't held back.
While the hierarchy of the club are aware of the success brought by the manager, they also feel a lack of trust existed, making the relationship go downhill.
The fact that Borussia Dortmund and Thomas Tuchel are nonetheless parting company has provoked criticism and a lack of understanding from some sections of our fan base. We, the people responsible for the board of management, the club committees and the KGaA, can understand this. With Thomas Tuchel at the helm, BVB enjoyed two successful years in which our sporting objectives were achieved. However, we – Sporting Director Michael Zorc and myself – also did not always see eye to eye with the coaching staff during this period of collaboration. When it comes to leadership responsibilities, it is not the result alone that matters – and in that respect, Borussia Dortmund is ultimately no different to any other sports club or business. What also matters are fundamental values such as trust, respect, the ability to communicate and work as a team, authenticity and identification. Qualities such as reliability and loyalty.
Unfortunately, we no longer believed the current coaching arrangement offered us a foundation for a successful future collaboration based on trust. That is why, following intensive talks and numerous discussions, we ultimately decided the best measure would be not to extend the cooperation with the coaching staff beyond the end of the 2016/17 season.
Oof.
Nice manager Lucien Favre is currently the favourite to replace Tuchel.
He better hope that he has those fundamental values or it'll be a short stay in the Westfaldonstadion.
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