Former Frankfurt coach Riera quips: “Bayern is a world of its own” | OneFootball

Albert Riera has caused a stir with his blunt comments about the Bundesliga. The former Eintracht Frankfurt coach expressed disappointment with the league’s level—while singling out FC Bayern.

Albert Riera has spoken in detail for the first time about his brief stint at Eintracht Frankfurt. The Spaniard, who was fired after just 107 days, leveled surprisingly harsh criticism at the Bundesliga and many clubs.

In an interview with the Slovenian TV station Sportklub, the 45-year-old explained: “To be honest, the level of play in the Bundesliga has disappointed me a bit. Bayern Munich is, of course, in a league of its own, and Borussia Dortmund can keep up to some extent with its budget. Then there are surprises like Stuttgart, but the rest was disappointing to me.”

The former Frankfurt coach analyzed the other Bundesliga teams as follows: “The teams in the bottom third of the table all play in exactly the same way. When you analyze them, you get the feeling that you’re playing the same opponent every week.”

Riera takes a swipe at the Bundesliga

Particularly noteworthy: Riera voiced his criticism even though his own record in Frankfurt was modest. Out of 14 Bundesliga matches, the Spaniard won only four.

Nevertheless, he apparently sees the differences in quality between the Bundesliga and smaller European leagues as much smaller than many experts do.

“When we look at the sums of money flowing in Germany—20, 30, even 40 million euros—compared to the amounts in the Slovenian league, it’s not a different world at all. That’s the reality,” Riera emphasized.

Photo: IMAGO

A return to Germany also doesn’t seem to be on the table for him at the moment. The former Bundesliga coach made it clear that in the future, he only wants to work for clubs that compete internationally.

“So far, I’ve received a few calls, but my answer has been ‘no’ because I want to compete at the European level. So, the Champions League—if not the Champions League, then the Europa League—or else the Conference League.”

In closing, Riera drew attention with another provocative statement. Referring to his former club, NK Celje, he explained: “If Celje were to play against Frankfurt, they could hold their own. I’m not saying they’d be better, but they could compete. The difference is smaller than it seems from the outside.”