Frankfurt / Main (dpa) – Less than twelve months after the triumph in the Europa League, the early departure of coach Oliver Glasner at Eintracht Frankfurt is apparently a done deal.
According to consistent media reports, the paths of the Austrian football coach and the Hessian Bundesliga team will part ways at the latest after the cup final on June 3 against RB Leipzig. This is the result of a short-term crisis summit on Monday between Glasner and Eintracht sports director Markus Krösche.
So far there has been no official confirmation from the club. But last Sunday, Frankfurt’s board spokesman, Axel Hellmann, indicated that the club’s management had lost confidence in Glasner. Now both sides have probably agreed that the Eintracht coach will not fulfill his contract, which is valid until the summer of 2024.
End of a dream marriage?
The dynamism and speed of the collapse of the apparent dream marriage between Glasner and Eintracht is remarkable. In February, under the impression of a successful first half of the Bundesliga season and the advance into the round of 16 of the Champions League, the coach had offered the coach an early contract extension until 2026, which he did not accept.
Only three months later, after ten Bundesliga games in a row and a few public missteps by the coach, everything is in tatters. “We are far behind expectations,” Hellmann recently criticized the sporting descent. What displeased the club bosses even more was the thin-skinnedness with which Glasner reacted to the increasing criticism in public.
First he slapped the team after the 2-0 loss at 1. FC Union Berlin, then after losing 3-1 in Leverkusen and Hoffenheim he got into a fight with journalists. The angry speech and the red card last Saturday in Sinsheim finally broke the camel’s back. “In the combination of goals and overall picture, you have to say: That doesn’t fit Eintracht Frankfurt. And it doesn’t match what we’re delivering at the moment – on the pitch and outside,” Hellmann said afterwards in the “Frankfurter Rundschau”.
In addition, Glasner has been in a clinch with sports director Krösche for weeks. In the manager’s view, the squad is not sufficiently well-staffed to achieve the qualification expected by the club for international competition via the league. Krösche, who even announced that he would like to take part in the premier class again during the winter break, sees it differently. The fact is: three games before the end of the season, Eintracht is only ninth with 43 points.
Toppmöller acted as successor
With a cup triumph and the associated leap into the Europa League, Eintracht could save the season and Glasner go with another trophy. However, it cannot be ruled out that there will be a big bang before the finale. “We cannot accept that we are letting the season come to an end,” Hellmann warned recently. That means: If the next appearances against FSV Mainz 05, Schalke 04 and SC Freiburg fail, the separation could be completed before the cup final.
Glasner himself is reportedly already traded at several top international clubs. Dino Toppmöller is the hottest contender for a possible successor in Frankfurt. The 42-year-old was most recently an assistant coach under Julian Nagelsmann at record champions Bayern Munich. According to information from Hessischer Rundfunk, there have already been talks between Krösche and Toppmöller, who know each other from their times together at RB Leipzig. Matthias Jaissle (Red Bull Salzburg) and Christian Ilzer (Sturm Graz) should also be among the candidates.
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