Is someone finally getting through to this? Or does he just unnecessarily offend stars like Burkardt, Götze or Theate? These are the big questions surrounding Eintracht coach Albert Riera. One thing seems clear: the Spaniard is not suitable to be chief diplomat.
On social networks, Eintracht coach Albert Riera is almost adored by some fans, many even have Riera as a photo in their profile picture. Finally a coach who doesn’t let the stars tell him anything and takes proper action, it says there. And indeed: Albert Riera is taking action.
The latest case is that of top striker Jonathan Burkardt, who is Eintracht’s top scorer with ten goals. In the Riera game system, Burkardt is now pretty much up in the air, or he has not been used at all, as was the case recently at Frankfurt’s 1-1 draw in Augsburgwhen Burkardt was only sent onto the pitch by Riera in the 88th minute. The reason could also be a big quarrel between Riera and Burkardt.
Riera criticized Burkardt because of his supposedly high body fat levels, but did not personally seek a conversation with the 25-year-old, but sent assistant coach Jan Fießer forward, reports Bild. Riera was also annoyed by Burkardt’s backward movement. Burkardt’s advisor then called on sports director Markus Krösche. Krösche tried to talk to Riera. The Eintracht coach is said to have shouted at Burkardt as he walked past. All of this corresponds to information from hr-sport. Burkardt is said to have been quite upset about his differences with Riera.
Problems with the stars of the previous season
But Burkardt is not the only Eintracht star with whom Riera has clashed in recent weeks. The first “victim” was Mario Götze, Eintracht extended his contract for another two years at the beginning of April. But under Riera, Götze no longer plays a role, the statistics show “not in the squad” three times in the games after the contract extension, i.e. against Wolfsburg, Leipzig and Augsburg. Riera had previously completely left the 2014 world champion out of the squad in the away game at Mainz 05.
According to hr-sport information, the communication before this disembarkation was similar to that in the Burkardt case. In other words: There should have been no direct conversation between Riera and the player. In the training week before the Mainz game, Götze was sent by an assistant coach to the training group that was not in the squad. Götze was surprised and complied.
The fact that Götze wasn’t even directly informed by Riera that he had been left out of the squad raised eyebrows among his teammates. Also with Burkardt, which closes the circle. Defender Arthur Theate, the long-running favorite of last season, is also no longer doing well under Riera; the Belgian was last on the bench for 90 minutes in Augsburg. In the home game against Leipzig, he was substituted shortly before the final whistle for no apparent reason and replaced by Elias Baum, who was out of position.
Difficult communication and harsh tone
Which brings us back to the enthusiasm of some Eintracht fans that with Albert Riera there is finally a coach at Eintracht who takes action and “doesn’t let the stars dance around on their faces”. That is indeed the case. But is it also smart? The main point of criticism of Riera’s approach – even internally – is not what (personnel) decisions the Spaniard makes, but rather how he makes them and how he communicates them. Namely, little to none. At least not face to face.
In addition, according to information from hr-sport, Riera’s tone in the team is said to be quite rough and unfriendly, and the Spaniard is said not to have even introduced himself to some Eintracht employees. If all of this were accompanied by a real sporting revival, the problems described would probably receive little attention.
But there was no real upswing, a real aha moment, under the Spaniard. The points average is below that of previous coach Dino Toppmöller. If you just take the last few months: Riera took over Eintracht at the end of January, when Frankfurt were eighth in the table, level on points with Freiburg. After eleven games under Riera, Eintracht, seventh in the table, is still level on points with Freiburg, even though Eintracht played seven times against teams from the bottom half of the table under Riera.
Key game against HSV in front of us
There are still three Bundesliga games left this season, including the important home game against Hamburger SV on Saturday (3:30 p.m.). This has to be won if Eintracht wants to realize their ambitions for a place in the European Cup. The remaining games in the league in Dortmund and in our own stadium against Stuttgart are not exactly easy. But now first the HSV in the Waldstadion. And Riera won’t be able to override the laws of football either. If there is a win against HSV, the unrest and the problems described will fade into the background again. If Eintracht loses, the prophecies of doom surrounding Albert Riera will become even louder.
