At club level, Favre played for Lausanne-Sports, Neuchâtel Xamax, Toulouse and Servette, earning a reputation as a skillful and intelligent playmaker.

[2] Notably, he scored his first and only international goal on his debut, netting in Zürich against the Netherlands on 1 September 1981 in the same game, in which both Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard also made their first appearance for their respective country.

In the summer of 2000, Favre decided to join Servette, a long-established club based in Geneva, where he had already won the league as a player.

[7] Servette eliminated Slavia Prague, Real Zaragoza and Hertha BSC (with a 3–0 away win in Olympiastadion), before going out against Valencia (0–3 and 2–2) in the last 16.

On 1 June 2007, German Bundesliga club Hertha BSC announced that Favre had agreed to sign a three-year deal as its head coach.

[19] In February 2009, one of the highlights of his spell in Germany was the brilliant tactical display of Hertha against Bayern Munich in a full Olympiastadion (almost 75,000 spectators).

This performance allowed them to beat the erstwhile reigning German champions 2–1 to take Hertha temporarily top of the Bundesliga.

Furthermore, three of the club's top players left in the summer: Josip Šimunić, Andriy Voronin and Marko Pantelić.

[24] He instigated an immediate improvement in form and although the club still struggled, they eventually managed a narrow win against VfL Bochum in a two-legged relegation play-off to secure their place in the Bundesliga.

[25] In the following season, the team surpassed all expectations by finishing in fourth place, thereby qualifying for the early stages of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League.

[27] The team's brand of fluid, counter-attacking football impressed pundits and press alike and was typified by an emphatic double win over Bayern Munich both home and away.

[29] Some suggested that the added weight of playing in Europe coupled with the sales of numerous key players, such as Marco Reus, was to blame for this.

The next season saw Gladbach rise to sixth, largely due to the astute signings of Max Kruse, Raffael and Christoph Kramer.

[7] Favre was sacked in January 2023 following a 1–0 Coupe de France loss to third tier side Le Puy Foot 43 Auvergne.

[50] Favre's teams play a dynamic, quick and attacking-minded football where ball possession and change of tempo alternate.

Under his leadership, Blerim Džemaili, Almen Abdi, Steve von Bergen and Gökhan Inler all made their debut with the Switzerland national team before signing for foreign clubs.

He is also credited with raising the game of German starlet Marco Reus, whose fine performances procured a call up to the Germany national team and a high-priced move to league champions Borussia Dortmund; Marc-André ter Stegen, who eventually joined Barcelona; and Christoph Kramer.

Another example of his ability to develop youngsters into widely sought after, talented players is seen in Granit Xhaka, who initially struggled when he joined Gladbach but, under Favre's tutelage, eventually thrived, becoming one of the best central midfielders in Germany and sealing a move to Arsenal for a fee reported to be in excess of €30 million.