New Frankfurt coach introduced
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The new coach Albert Riera wants to lead Eintracht Frankfurt to happiness like a love affair. “I always like to compare it with a friend. Everyone is motivated in the first few days. You have butterflies in your stomach,” is how the Spaniard described it when introducing himself. “I will convince you every single morning that you need this feeling because you need to keep this love alive.” He also set the bar very high for himself. “I really have everything here. There are no excuses,” Riera said.
The 43-year-old also introduced an unusual captaincy hierarchy as the successor to Dino Toppmöller. “We now have six captains,” said the former international, who most recently worked at NK Celje in Slovenia. “I want to see leaders.” The previous captain Robin Koch is part of this sextet. Riera also listed Mario Götze, Rasmus Kristensen and Arthur Theate. The group also elected Jonathan Burkhardt. In two weeks he wants to name another captain himself.
At the side of sports director Markus Krösche, the coach, who is tied to Hesse until 2028, explained how he would like to help the struggling Bundesliga club achieve success again. He doesn’t talk about problems, but about solutions, said Riera, whose debut is scheduled for Friday (8:30 p.m./Sky) at Union Berlin. “I’m so positive about my players. I give them rose-colored glasses. Everything is rose-colored, everything is beautiful, nothing is gloomy.”
Frankfurt’s Krösche: Want to play internationally next season
In the 1:3 against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, interim coach Dennis Schmitt once again looked after the team. Due to the home defeat with another three goals conceded, the Hessians are already eight points behind a European Cup starting place. Frankfurt was eliminated from the Champions League after the league phase.
“We still have a lot of games. Our ambitions haven’t changed. We want to play internationally next year,” emphasized Krösche. “But the focus now has to be on today and tomorrow.”
