Mats Hummels insists there are no problems between him and Lucien Favre
Mats Hummels insists 'there are no differences' between him and BVB coach Lucien Favre.
Mats Hummels has underlined that he has a good relationship with Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre.
Hummels was in focus on Saturday when he was sent off shortly before the break in Dortmund's 2-1 win over Hertha BSC.
And the week before that, the 30-year-old made headlines when he said he felt BVB should have lined up in a 4-1-4-1 instead of a 4-2-3-1 for their 3-3 draw with Paderborn.
His comments were interpreted as criticism of Favre, but Hummels insists he didn't mean to lash out at his coach.
"There are no differences with the coach. That's nonsense. We have very good relationship, talk a lot and often exchange ideas. I'm impressed by his ideas. It surprises me if people interpret my words as criticism of the coach. That's not how I see it at all," Hummels told Sport Bild and added:
"I feel it's easier to apply pressure [with a 4-1-4-1 formation]. I have the feeling that the coach had the same impression against Paderborn, otherwise he wouldn't have changed it.
"When I address things in public, there is a very, very high probability that it's something that has already been addressed internally. If I have the feeling that it isn't helping, I would maybe choose another way," Hummels said.
It has been claimed that it was mainly Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke - and not Favre - who wanted to bring Hummels back to Signal Iduna Park from Bayern München in the summer.
And former Gladbach player Thorben Marx sparked rumors that Favre is not a big fan of Hummels when he told Sky last week that the 62-year-old described the centre-back as 'overrated' during his tenure at Borussia-Park.
Hummels has made 18 appearances for BVB this season.