Lucien Favre is no longer the trainer of Geneva's Servette football team, after agreeing with the club's administrators to give up his position.

The club said both parties had agreed to go their separate ways because of differences of opinion about the club's sports' strategy. Neither side made any further comment.

The announcement was made after a meeting between Favre and the administrators. The coach's departure came as no surprise, after news of his imminent release was leaked to the Sunday papers.

Favre still had a year to run on his contract, and has probably received a generous redundancy package. According to media reports, there was a clause in his contract that gave him a SFr500,000 ($317,000) payout if he was sacked.

Early departure

The reason for his early departure does not appear to be related to performance. In his two years at the helm, Favre won the Swiss Cup in 2000, took his team to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup this year, and qualified it for the same competition next season after finishing fourth in the first-division championship.

Two reasons have been put forward for the coach's departure. Some reports say he no longer had the backing of the players, who often complained about his decisions and said he failed to keep his promises.

Favre may have also paid for his tumultuous relationship with the club's outgoing manager, Patrick Trotignon, who represents Servette's majority shareholder, the French television company, Canal+. In the past, the coach had been critical of Trotignon's activities on the player market.

Favre's departure comes at a critical juncture for the club, which is desperately trying to find a new president, preferably a local. Nobody has been named to succeed Favre.

swissinfo with agencies

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