Markus Krösche named manager of the season | OneFootball

Football culture magazine 11FREUNDE crowns the Eintracht board member for sport for the past season. Dino Toppmöller and Nathaniel Brown are also recognised.

On Wednesday, the football portal Transfermarkt published an overview of the market value developments of all squads in Europe's top leagues since 15 September 2024. Although external valuations should always be treated with caution, Eintracht rank fifth behind FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting Lisbon and Chelsea FC in terms of market value increases in this period. That is the economic aspect of the success story since Markus Krösche joined the club in 2021. The other is the sporting side: so far during the tenure of the board member for sport – who extended his contract until 2028 in April – the Hessians have won the UEFA Europa League in 2022, reached the DFB Cup final in 2023, reached the UEFA Champions League last 16 in the same year, reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League this year and improved their Bundesliga position each season, with 11th, seventh, sixth and finally third-place finishes, meaning that the Eagles qualified for the Champions League via the Bundesliga for the first time.

Football culture magazine 11FREUNDE has now crowned Krösche ‘Manager of the Season’. “With the 44-year-old at the helm, there’s a man whose calm nature and authority rub off on the entire club,” read the explanation given by the 11FREUNDE editorial team. “Before the season, he publicly backed coach Dino Toppmöller, who was in a shaky position, and provided him with two new assistant coaches and a finely tuned team. This is even more remarkable when you consider that it’s now become a feature of every Frankfurt transfer window that their best player is pinched from them.” The jury included long-time official Jörg Schmadtke, who praised the “conviction and leadership qualities” of the Hanover native.

The magazine also awarded the coach and newcomer of the season, with an Eintracht man claiming third place in both: Eagles boss Toppmöller and Nathaniel Brown, who instantly established himself as a key player in his first year of top-flight football. When it came to taking stock, Krösche himself insisted on looking ahead: “Overall, we have a very good mix of experienced and young players, physically athletic and technically skilled players. I'm very happy. We'll approach the next season in the same way and see how far it takes us.”