“It’s like having a new girlfriend” | OneFootball

At Albert Riera’s official introductory press conference, the new head coach and Markus Krösche give their thoughts on Eintracht’s options, approach, playing style and much more besides.

Head coach Albert Riera on …

… himself and his decision to come to Frankfurt: “I’m an honest guy, I’ll always tell my players the truth. I won’t choose my words in a way that might make the players like me more. I love what I do and I always do my best. Being a footballer is the best job in the world, and being a football coach is the second best. My players want solutions and options, they should know what they need to do – and they will know what they need to do. My players will know what to do both with and without the ball. 

“I don’t tell my players, ‘this is the problem’. I say, ‘these are the options, this is what we need to do.’ If we make a mistake then we can change it and do it a different way. I’m a positive person, we want to give the players belief and confidence. I spoke to Markus Krösche around two and a half years ago, and I’ve followed Eintracht and the Bundesliga even more intently ever since. I’m fully motivated. I’m not here to look back at the past. I’m not better or worse than other coaches. I’m confident that my ideas can help and will have an impact. My players will follow me because I offer them solutions.”… his first impressions: “We’ve got everything we need here, so there are no excuses. The ProfiCamp and the facilities are incredible. Everyone seems to be very motivated. The feeling is like when you have a new girlfriend, you get butterflies in your stomach. That’s something we need to keep, everyone should feel that. Every morning. Not just us as a team but everyone at the club who wants to move it forward. Now’s the time to start something good.”

… his playing philosophy: “Everything is important. You need to do a lot of things well if you want to win games, and the same applies to improving players. We need to give the players the belief that they’re good, strong and quick - that’s exactly how they should feel. In football, if you know what you have to do - how to defend in every area of the pitch and what to do with the ball - then you won’t have a problem. Situations need solutions. We’ve got very good players. With self-belief you can achieve a great deal. With doubts, you can’t. The players shouldn’t be scared of making mistakes, but it’s important to make fewer mistakes than the opposition. Our game depends on linking up well, so we need a lot of options. We’ll take risks, but in the final third. When we don’t have the ball we won’t be passive – we’ll attack and force mistakes.”

… his objectives: “The question isn’t what the objectives are but how to achieve them. If we play well, we’ll see where we end up.”

… the period leading up to the first game: “You don’t have any time in football. We want to win our next game. My players have to be smart to understand the match. For example, they shouldn’t just run for the sake of it. They have to understand how they’re running. It doesn’t matter who covers more ground, but who covers it better. It’s all well and good running 14 kilometres, but only if it achieves something. Hopefully we’ll be able to recognise some changes in the next game, a new playing style and a new identity. Every match forms part of this process. The players have to buy into the idea.”

… key players: “Robin Koch, Mario Götze, Rasmus Kristensen and Arthur Theate are the captains. I asked the team to vote for a fifth captain and they chose Jonny Burkardt. I’ll select a sixth captain in a couple of weeks. I want players with character and leadership qualities. Our playing style requires intensity and aggression.”

… rules: “I have three rules in the changing room. Number one is respect. Number two is that you train the way you play. Number three is what do I do for the team with and without the ball? That’s what I demand every day. Every time we enter this building, we’ll do everything we can to win our games. Outside of this building we can talk about other things.”

Board member for sport Markus Krösche on …

… Albert Riera: “The first time we met was around two and a half years ago. We spent an evening together. It was very interesting to talk to him about football and what’s important to him. After we parted company with Dino [Toppmöller], I contacted him and asked if he could envisage coming to Frankfurt. He said yes relatively quickly. Over the past two weeks we tried to find a solution with his club. It wasn’t easy for them to lose their coach in a title race. But we managed it and we’re pleased that Albert is with us. We’re looking forward to having a very successful time together.”

… aims for the current season: “Our aims haven’t changed, we want to qualify for Europe. But we’re not making any big declarations right now; we’re focusing on ourselves and need to make sure we get back to our old strength.”