Eintracht coach Albert Riera: A new address for Frankfurt

Nno one can see into the future. But if there is something that can be said after Albert Riera’s first public appearance as Eintracht Frankfurt’s new coach, it is this: any form of dispassion should be over. Not just because Riera spoke of the “butterflies in his stomach” that he felt. And that he wants to keep this love alive. The 43-year-old presented himself so expressively that the impression solidified that the Bundesliga was getting a new type of coach: an expressionist with clear facial contours and piercing, icy eyes.

Riera most recently coached NK Celje from Slovenia and was on the bench there for the last time on Sunday. His team played as league leaders against NK Maribor and saw themselves denied victory in the last minute of added time. Maribor scored a third goal and equalized. Three goals conceded? There was something there. In their last seven games, Frankfurt Eintracht have conceded three goals in all competitions – except against Tottenham Hotspur (0-2) in the Champions League. What problems did he identify in his analysis? “Problem” is a word that has no place in his vocabulary, Riera said: “For me there are options.” His mission is to give players guidance and show them solutions in advance. And to play football so well.

Riera was born in Manacor, the Mallorcan birthplace of tennis player Rafael Nadal. He has had a hugely successful professional career – including playing for Liverpool FC and the Spanish national team – and has made that the basis of beliefs that he now wants to pass on to his players. Just like he did as a coach at another Slovenian club (Olimpija Maribor) and Girondins Bordeaux.

“I believe in my ideas. I’m ready – and totally convinced,” said Riera, who doesn’t speak German but speaks excellent English and a number of other languages. Language was not a criterion, said Frankfurt manager Markus Krösche; Nowadays, basically everyone speaks English well enough. It was more about finding the best solution for Eintracht Frankfurt. And the best solution is Riera, whom he met two years ago.

The solution for unity has less to do with the tactical system than with questions of mental attitude, explained Riera. There are two types of teams: those that pounce on the opponent and those that wait: “We won’t be those who wait,” promised the Spaniard.

Riera announces longer video sessions – and keeps the captaincy question open

How should this be accomplished? Confidence accounts for half of a professional soccer player’s performance, he said; There should also be no lack of positivity. That’s one of the reasons why he’ll give his players glasses “with pink lenses,” he said, “not dark ones.” He said his sentences with a look that penetrated walls. “If I tell my players tomorrow: jump from the balcony, they should soon say they will do it,” he said. Which, by the way, was meant metaphorically. “My players will follow me because I give them solutions and optimism.”

Riera has trained with the team twice since his arrival in Frankfurt on Sunday evening and has already given insights into his first measures. He initially expanded the circle of team captains to six – Robin Koch remains the first, Riera wants to decide in two weeks who he will choose as his captain. Riera announced that the team would have to get used to enduring longer video sessions; Before you drive a vehicle, you have to study theory and learn the traffic signs, argued the Spaniard. The list of penalties has also been expanded. In the event of disciplinary offenses, he will not only take the professionals’ wallets, but also let them spin a wheel of fortune. In addition to the pecuniary fines, there would also be punishment work, such as cleaning football boots for an hour or working in the garden with the groundskeeper. Which in the current temperatures might lead to a higher level of obedience.

He also took responsibility for himself before his debut on Friday at 1. FC Union Berlin. “I have everything here,” he said, looking at Eintracht’s snow-covered facilities. There’s just one thing he won’t have from now on: “Excuses.”