On February 2, Frankfurt announced the arrival of Albert Riera to replace Dino Toppmöller, sacked after eight games without a win and a draw conceded against Werder Bremen (3-3). The former Liverpool player, who has since become a coach with a notable stint at Bordeaux, was not the most obvious profile to turn around one of the most ambitious clubs in Germany. And yet, the results since his arrival speak rather in his favor: a draw snatched from Union Berlin (1-1), a convincing 3-0 victory against Mönchengladbach and a short and cruel defeat on the pitch of Bayern Munich (3-2) in a match where Eintracht hung on to the leader for more than an hour this Saturday.
Riera is already driving the Germans crazy
But as was expected, Albert Riera did not wait long before making people talk about him for something other than his results. In France, where he led the Girondins (2023-2024), his press conferences and his character considered arrogant had quickly annoyed the world of professional football and his fellow coaches. David Guion had been cash. “I have been coaching in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 for almost 10 years and I have never seen a coach so disrespectful of his colleagues. » Same story for Patrice Garande. “Everyone knows that he is a coach who lacks humility and who has above all lacked respect for many of my colleagues on the pitch. It’s a boy I didn’t know, he unpleasantly surprised me, but I’m not the only one. » And even in Slovenia, its former president Igor Barisic, with whom Riera was on bad terms in Ljubljana, once described her in an interview as “time bomb, from a person who thought he was God”. The character is known.
In Germany, obviously, the current is not going any better with part of the press and former players retraining in the media. In a podcast, former striker Martin Harnik released a direct statement, to say the least. “He’s the kind of guy, I’m very honest, who I don’t wish success on. I just think it would be pretty funny to see him go down ingloriously. » Max Kruse, another ex-player and co-host of the same podcast, followed suit. “I feel like he thinks of something new every week to get noticed. I think this guy is a little too theatrical. » Strong words, which did not take long to reach Riera’s ears. Questioned on this subject during his press conference by BILD journalists, the Mallorcan coach put on a show as usual: “Kruse?” Who ? Who is he? Are they footballers? I’m not here to criticize anyone. But you need to know one thing: when you express yourself, especially as a public figure, there are always pros and cons. You can only hurt me if I love you. If I don’t love you, you can’t hurt me. My wife, my children, my friends, they can hurt me. I don’t care about them. Because I know what I want and how I want it. » It could have stopped there.
Frankfurt’s slippage on X
But it was ultimately Eintracht Frankfurt who ignited the powder with a resounding response on Xdirectly calling out BILD for asking Riera the question. The German club launched on its account X. “Let’s agree that questions asked of our head coach during press conferences should not be based on opinions expressed in a podcast where one of the two hosts has already toured the Internet with his penis. Any other behavior would be irresponsible. THANKS. » The reference could not be clearer. In 2016, a sexual video allegedly involving Max Kruse circulated on social networks, to the point of contributing to his exclusion from the German national team by Joachim Löw for lack of professionalism. Enough to provoke strong reactions. Albert Riera has been in Frankfurt for three weeks. And he hasn’t stopped talking about him…
