8. Second chance coach
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Adi Hütter’s comeback at Eintracht Frankfurt is perfect. Five years after his voluntary departure, the Austrian is taking on the role of coach of the Bundesliga club for the second time. The 56-year-old takes over from the Spaniard Albert Riera, from whom the Frankfurt team parted ways after less than four months following the last game of the season.
Hütter, who successfully coached the Hessians from 2018 to 2021, will receive a contract until June 30, 2029. The football teacher most recently worked in France at AS Monaco, where he was fired last October. “Adi Hütter stands for courageous offensive football, clarity and discipline. He has shown in his positions that he can combine fast-paced switching football with possession of the ball. Especially recently in Monaco, where he developed one of the youngest teams in the league in such a targeted manner and at the same time stabilized it so that it was able to establish itself in the top group of Ligue 1. After very good discussions, we are convinced that we can further develop Eintracht together. It is also an advantage that Adi has the structures, the environment and people in and around him “We know the club and it doesn’t require any special adjustment period. We had a very trusting exchange in which Adi, in addition to his proven expertise, also gave us the impression that he wanted to make a difference with Eintracht with great desire and passion,” said sports director Markus Krösche, explaining the decision to choose Hütter.
Hütter himself looks forward to the task with great anticipation: “For me it is something very special and emotional to be coach of Eintracht again. The time we had together in Frankfurt has shaped me and I have never forgotten it. Looking back, I always had the feeling that I was not finished yet. I am all the more pleased to have the opportunity to tackle this task with a lot of work, discipline and a clear focus. The club’s path over the past few years has been remarkable. We will do everything we can to ensure that the team is in The fans are excited about the coming season and we will have a successful season.”
The fact that Eintracht brings back a coach is something of a tradition for the Hessians. After Paul Oßwald, Peter Szabo, Dietrich Weise, Jörg Berger, Dragoslav Stepanovic, Karl-Heinz Körbel and Armin Veh, Hütter is the eighth coach to be given a second chance on the Main. In his first term in office, Hütter led Eintracht to the Europa League semi-finals in 2019. However, his voluntary departure to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer of 2021 – despite a contract that was still valid for two years – did not go completely smoothly.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Major upheaval is imminent
Hütter announced the upcoming change in the middle of the final phase of the season, for which he was later heavily criticized. Eintracht was in fourth place at the time, but then lost a comfortable seven-point cushion and thus lost their place in the Champions League. However, the former differences have long since been resolved.
Now Hütter is supposed to lead Eintracht back into calmer waters after the short and stormy Riera era and, above all, back onto the European football stage. As eighth in the table, Frankfurt missed out on an international starting place last season. In collaboration with sports director Krösche, Hütter has to put together a powerful team in the summer. Not an easy undertaking – the club bosses have announced a new start in terms of personnel. “We will not only experience a major upheaval, but we will actually want it this time,” announced board spokesman Axel Hellmann recently.
