Even the boldest optimists no longer believe that Albert Riera will still be coach of Eintracht Frankfurt in 2026/27. The Spaniard suffered his fifth defeat in his 13th Bundesliga game as SGE coach in a 3-2 defeat against BVB. Even rumors of an expulsion before the season finale are circulating in the media. This also applies to the names of possible successors. Now it has come to light which trainer the Hessians should “dream” about.
Eintracht Frankfurt “dreams a little bit about Roger Schmidt,” says sports director Walter M. Straten at “Bild Sport”. There is a direct counterattack from ex-national player Thomas Helmer, who explains that he has heard that Schmidt no longer wants to take on a coaching position. Straten also mentions Oliver Glasner and Adi Hütter, who have already been traded several times and who have celebrated successes with the Frankfurt team in the past.
Glasner, who won the Europa League with SGE in 2022, is currently under contract with Crystal Palace. The Austrian led the club to victory in the FA Cup in 2025, and in 2026 he will also reach the final of the Conference League with the Eagles. At the beginning of the year, however, Glasner announced that he did not want to extend his expiring contract.
Hütter, who was voted coach of the season for Eintracht in 2019 and 2021, is currently without a club. In October 2025 he had to resign from AS Monaco.
This is not the first time Schmidt has been brought into play at Eintracht Frankfurt
A new name now appears with Schmidt. The 59-year-old most recently coached SL Benfica from Lisbon until August 2024. Since October 2025, he has been responsible for the Japanese J.League as Global Sports Director. Schmidt gained plenty of experience in German football as a coach at Preußen Münster, SC Paderborn and Bayer Leverkusen.
By the way, back in January, Dietmar Hamann recommended that the Frankfurt team consider Schmidt: “Of the coaching candidates that are being traded, I think Roger Schmidt is the best for Eintracht. I don’t know whether he wants to give up his consulting job in Japan, but I would lean towards Schmidt,” Hamann wrote in his “Sky” column at the time. As the successor to the previously dismissed Dino Toppmöller, the Hessians shook Riera out of their sleeves.
