Jonathan Burkardt and Ritsu Doan embrace Adi Hütter’s Eintracht Frankfurt reset: “A completely different football!” | OneFootball

Eintracht Frankfurt attackers Jonathan Burkardt and Ritsu Doan have offered strong endorsements of new head coach Adi Hütter’s tactical work during the club’s preseason training camp in Grassau.

Both players emphasized the increased intensity and aggressive pressing Hütter has introduced since returning to Frankfurt. Their comments also presented an unflattering contrast with a turbulent 2025/26 campaign during which Eintracht employed three different head coaches.

Burkardt believes Hütter’s desire to press high and attack quickly after winning possession is particularly well suited to his own game. Doan similarly praised the Austrian head coach’s authority and clearly defined approach.

“I think it suits me very well to press high, play with intensity and win the ball high up the pitch so that the route to goal is short,” the Germany international told Kicker. “That’s exactly what we’re practising at the moment. You can see it in the sessions, and I’m really enjoying it.”

“You can tell right away that he’s the boss—he has a natural authority,” Doan remarked in his own Kicker interview. “That’s very important. He has clear ideas that we follow. Everyone on the team is in a very positive mood.”

Burkardt: “A completely different footballing idea.”

Burkardt described Hütter as a highly communicative coach who regularly stops training exercises to correct positioning and involve the players in tactical discussions.

“He’s a very communicative coach who also involves the players, which is enjoyable,” Burkardt said. “It’s essential that there’s a lot of correction and discussion right now.”

“The change is obvious,” Burkardt continued. “It’s a completely different footballing idea and a completely different system. Everyone first has to get used to it and be brought along.”

“Of course, not everything is running perfectly at this point,” Doan added. “But for our mindset, it’s very important to internalize the basics.”

Eintracht stars reflect on difficult season

Both players were candid about Frankfurt’s struggles during the previous campaign. Burkardt described his first Eintracht season as “turbulent” and ultimately unsatisfactory despite maintaining a respectable personal scoring rate.

The striker also addressed his difficult relationship with former coach Albert Riera.

“A lot happened,” Burkardt said. “That phase was definitely turbulent and very exhausting for me personally. Not everything went smoothly from the coach’s side or from mine.

“I also didn’t react in the best possible way,” Burkardt continued. “But I think I can now draw a line under it and look ahead. What is currently happening in Frankfurt is doing me a lot of good.”

Burkardt had returned from injury with a goal against Bayern Munich before Riera publicly questioned his commitment during the closing stages of the campaign. The striker responded by returning to the starting XI and registering an assist against Hamburg, though the episode produced another contentious Riera press conference.

The disagreement followed Riera’s earlier confrontation with reporters over his decision to omit Mario Götze from a Bundesliga matchday squad.

Doan likewise acknowledged that Riera’s attempts to deploy him in central midfield had left him confused and uncomfortable. The positional uncertainty represented another complication during a tenure that had begun with a largely cautious tactical approach.

“To be honest, I don’t know exactly what position that was,” Doan said. “Number eight? Number six? Both? I don’t know. It wasn’t comfortable for me, and overall it wasn’t an easy time.”

Riera’s early work had indeed initially earned public praise from Mario Götze, but that optimism disappeared as Frankfurt’s results and relationships deteriorated.

Burkardt and Doan target personal revival

Burkardt has arrived at camp in excellent physical condition after using the summer break to work on his fitness, nutrition and endurance. He also revealed that Hütter had encouraged him to assume greater responsibility within Frankfurt’s young squad.

“He said that I should take responsibility,” Burkardt said. “I told him that I was ready and that I was very happy to take responsibility and lead from the front.”

Doan, meanwhile, remains confident that he can rediscover the form that produced ten goals and eight assists during his final Bundesliga season with Freiburg. Asked whether he could return to that level, the 28-year-old offered a simple response.

“I have no doubt about that,” the Japanese international noted. 

The early evidence from Grassau suggests that Hütter’s intense and proactive football may provide both players with the platform they require.

Now all the newly reinstalled head coach has to do is remember – from his previous SGE stint – how to consume Handkäse with the proper utensil.

GGFN | Peter Weis