Spaniard Albert Riera named new Eintracht Frankfurt manager | OneFootball

Eintracht Frankfurt announced this Friday the Spaniard Albert Riera as their new coach, a surprising appointment since the coach was with Slovenian club Celje.

According to local media, Frankfurt agreed to pay a transfer fee of €1.3 million (R$8.1 million at the current exchange rate) to hire Riera, who signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, valid until 2028.

The coach will officially start his duties on Monday, after fulfilling his commitment to lead his last match for Celje against rivals Maribor on Sunday.

As a player, the 43-year-old Spaniard played for 11 clubs, including Liverpool, Galatasaray, and Espanyol, and had a brief loan spell at Manchester City. He played 16 matches for the Spanish national team.

After a period as an assistant coach at Galatasaray, Riera moved to Olimpija Ljubljana, where he won the national championship and cup. He left Slovenia to coach Bordeaux but was dismissed after nine months for failing to achieve promotion to the French first division.

He returned to Slovenia to coach Celje and won the local cup. His team currently leads the championship this season with a 12-point advantage.

Frankfurt's sporting director, Markus Kroesche, described their new coach as “a coach who represents modern, intense, and offensive football.”

“Riera has international experience, a clear game philosophy, and an equally clear approach in his daily work with the team,” stated Kroesche.

Eintracht Frankfurt dismissed Dino Toppmöller in mid-January after a series of poor results. The German coach led the team to third place in the Bundesliga last season, the club's best position in three decades, but the “Eagles” have faced difficulties this season.

With 19 games played in the Bundesliga, Frankfurt is in eighth place, nine points behind the Champions League qualification zone, and was eliminated from European competitions before the last round.

*With content from AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.