Frankfurt are eliminated after a 2-0 defeat against Tottenham – the search for a coach is underway

The search for a trainer is dragging on

Eintracht Frankfurt loses against Tottenham

Defeat at the end: Eintracht Frankfurt conceded 0-2 against Tottenham. Of all people, a former player scores – and the search for a coach drags on.

Some fans left disappointed Eintracht Frankfurt after their team’s next weak performance, they left their home stadium minutes before the final whistle. Even in the final stretch of the coaching search, the crisis club was unable to turn things around. Eintracht lost 0-2 (0-0) against Tottenham Hotspur on the final matchday in the league phase of the Champions League, which was meaningless for them in terms of sport.

Of all people, ex-Frankfurt player Randal Kolo Muani initiated the defeat of the Bundesliga club with his goal in the 47th minute. The 27-year-old left Eintracht for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023 after a training strike and was consistently booed by Eintracht supporters. But he refrained from making a big celebration pose in front of 58,000 spectators. Substitute Dominic Solanke made it 2-0 (77′).

“Of course we hoped for more,” said sports director Markus Krösche. When asked how big his disappointment was, he replied: “Now let’s leave the church in the village.” Of course we were hoping for more points. “But we competed with a young team. We were also aware that they would of course make a few more mistakes at this level.” It is now important to learn something from the season.

While Tottenham’s victory made it a direct entry into the round of 16, the Hessians had no chance of advancing to the knockout phase with just four points before kick-off.

Instead, the focus remains on finding a coach at Eintracht. The hottest candidate is the Spaniard Albert Riera, who currently coaches the Slovenian club NK Celje and has a contract there until the summer of 2028. According to information from several media outlets, a transfer fee of around 1.3 million euros is due for the 43-year-old.

However, there is apparently no quick agreement in sight: Krösche announced that on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) in the Bundesliga against Bavarian Leverkusen’s interim coaches Dennis Schmitt and Alexander Meier will once again be on the sidelines. The two took over a week and a half ago after the separation from head coach Dino Toppmöller. “We are in discussions and will announce something if there is something to announce,” said Krösche about the status of the coaching search. On Saturday “the existing coaching team” will sit on the bench.

In the duel with Tottenham, the home team had to do without offensive gem Can Uzun due to a muscle injury in his thigh. In addition to Kolo Muani, Spurs also had Bayern Munich loanee João Palhinha and former Leipzig player Xavi Simons in the starting line-up.