German Football 21/22 | Gladbach sign Farke

[do.ob]

Both that + the tensions with the rest of the management, unless it's all based on that team manager...

I mean he definitely did feck up a lot in the last 12 months:
not sacking Rose complete messed up their season, cost them a lot of good will with the fans and god knows what it did to the dressing room
not selling or extending Zakaria and Ginter in the summer is a small financial catastrophe for the club
he had the club pay €7.5m for a coach, who seems all but ready for the axe halfway through the season
having his love live interfere with club business isn't exactly professional

It's not surprising to hear that the rest of the club's management might have been questioning him.

 

[mazhar13]

I mean he definitely did feck up a lot in the last 12 months:
not sacking Rose complete messed up their season, cost them a lot of good will with the fans and god knows what it did to the dressing room
not selling or extending Zakaria and Ginter in the summer is a small financial catastrophe for the club
he had the club pay €7.5m for a coach, who seems all but ready for the axe halfway through the season
having his love live interfere with club business isn't exactly professional

It's not surprising to hear that the rest of the club's management might have been questioning him.

Yeah, he should have been on top of those issues at the club, but I guess his love life may have distracted him more than I thought. In that case, fair enough, he really should be dismissed.

 

[do.ob]

Yeah, he should have been on top of those issues at the club, but I guess his love life may have distracted him more than I thought. In that case, fair enough, he really should be dismissed.

To be clear: all reports state that Eberl made the decision to step down, he wasn't sacked.

Also here's an article from one of the local papers that claims that Eberl actually wants to join another club immediately. I guess that leaves:
Bayern - they wanted him before, but they have hired two prominent faces in Salihamidzic and Kahn since then, so maybe not anymore?
Dortmund - Zorc is retiring, Kehl has been built up as a successor internally, but he has no experience being the boss, so they could be tempted to split the job with Eberl
Leipzig - they've been missing a DoF since Krösche left last summer and signing Eberl would explain why they left the position open for so long


Eberl was born in Bavaria, came through Munich's academy and actually turned them down once to stay with Gladbach, so I guess fans could live with it if he joined them, but if it's Leipzig or Dortmund then we will see some pretty angry stuff.

 

[mazhar13]

To be clear: all reports state that Eberl made the decision to step down, he wasn't sacked.

Also here's an article from one of the local papers that claims that Eberl actually wants to join another club immediately. I guess that leaves:
Bayern - they wanted him before, but they have hired two prominent faces in Salihamidzic and Kahn since then, so maybe not anymore?
Dortmund - Zorc is retiring, Kehl has been built up as a successor internally, but he has no experience being the boss, so they could be tempted to split the job with Eberl
Leipzig - they've been missing a DoF since Krösche left last summer and signing Eberl would explain why they left the position open for so long


Eberl was born in Bavaria, came through Munich's academy and actually turned them down once to stay with Gladbach, so I guess fans could live with it if he joined them, but if it's Leipzig or Dortmund then we will see some pretty angry stuff.

You're right, he is stepping down. I was just conveying my agreement over the tensions, and if he wasn't going to step down, then he'd most likely have been dismissed at some point.

On the possible teams, ooh boy, if he joins either Dortmund or Leipzig, there'll be a ton of anger. If he joins Bayern, then the non-Bundesliga followers will continue to say the same thing about Bayern and hoovering up the best people.

 

[stefan92]

If he joins Bayern, then the non-Bundesliga followers will continue to say the same thing about Bayern and hoovering up the best people.

I guess at this time it wouldn't be that bad. He doesn't live at his best but at a time were he is a problem and should go. Bayern would do Gladbach a service if they pay to get Eberl out of his contract. Nonetheless I don't believe it is going to be Bayern, Kahn/Salihamidzic/Nagelsmann seem to be quite close together and much more stable as Rummenigge/Salihamidzic/Flick last season.

Another candidate mentioned in the news but not yet here to replace Eberl is Dieter Hecking. He worked as a head coach for a lot of midtable teams (including Gladbach, he was there before Rose) and currently is Nürnbergs DoF. Would be a solid option I guess, like Hecking always is. Not exciting in any way, but you can be sure that you get what you pay for.

 

[mazhar13]

I guess at this time it wouldn't be that bad. He doesn't live at his best but at a time were he is a problem and should go. Bayern would do Gladbach a service if they pay to get Eberl out of his contract. Nonetheless I don't believe it is going to be Bayern, Kahn/Salihamidzic/Nagelsmann seem to be quite close together and much more stable as Rummenigge/Salihamidzic/Flick last season.

Another candidate mentioned in the news but not yet here to replace Eberl is Dieter Hecking. He worked as a head coach for a lot of midtable teams (including Gladbach, he was there before Rose) and currently is Nürnbergs DoF. Would be a solid option I guess, like Hecking always is. Not exciting in any way, but you can be sure that you get what you pay for.

I wasn't aware that Hecking became a DoF. Nice promotion for him. How's he doing with Nürnberg so far?

 

[stefan92]

I wasn't aware that Hecking became a DoF. Nice promotion for him. How's he doing with Nürnberg so far?

Like he always is: Solid, but not exciting

 

[do.ob]

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On some level Hecking makes sense, but to be honest I don't think a club like Gladbach should recycle past their best coaches as DoFs anymore and working briefly in Nürnberg doesn't change that.

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With his contract expiring in 2023 that's quite unfortunate for Freiburg.

 

[Hansi Fick]

Oh wow, the Eberl news is massive. End of an era.

What's the background? Is he taking responsibility for the mess they're in? Is he burnt out? Does he have offers from Everton or Newcastle?
Edit: never mind just read the posts above

He always was the one that got away in terms of Bayern DoF, but now there's surely no space for him..

 

[stefan92]

I'm really curious what all this means for Hütter.

Will his position be stronger because all the issues are not his fault?

Or will it be weaker because the DoF who was massively supporting him is leaving and his successor might be more willing to fire him?

Interesting times in Gladbach for sure.

 

[do.ob]

I'm really curious what all this means for Hütter.

Will his position be stronger because all the issues are not his fault?

Or will it be weaker because the DoF who was massively supporting him is leaving and his successor might be more willing to fire him?

Interesting times in Gladbach for sure.

It won't help him one bit. Hütter's failure was and is Eberl's failure and that protected him, but someone new is free of that connection and only has to worry about what happens in the future and without that €7.5m fee as a factor it will be much easier to conclude that things aren't working out and there's no use crying about spilled milk, so let's try something new.
At some point you don't care anymore how things got so messy, you just need to clear up the mess as quickly as possible and that usually means sacking the coach to get a new impulse. The same goes for the dressing room: if, as reported, players don't believe in Hütter anymore, it doesn't matter whether that's because he had to negotiate a minefield left to him by Rose and Eberl, it only matters that he's lost the dressing room.

 

[Zehner]

Thing is, is there really a coach available that's as promising as Hütter was when he joined Gladbach?

I think a reasonable DOF would probably continue with Hütter. I mean, even as an outsider it is quite clear that he took over an extremely ungrateful job.

 

[do.ob]

Thing is, is there really a coach available that's as promising as Hütter was when he joined Gladbach?

I think a reasonable DOF would probably continue with Hütter. I mean, even as an outsider it is quite clear that he took over an extremely ungrateful job.

As always everything depends on the dressing room. On paper Hütter has shown enough in his career to ride this out with him (as long as they stay clear-ish of relegation), but if there is a disconnect between him and his players, especially the ones that they don't intend to shift in the summer, then the coach is always the weakest link and it's always his head that rolls first.
What must be especially annoying for Gladbach is that Plea and Thuram, two absolute key players in their attack, don't seem to perform at all for Hütter and that alone could be a reason to hope that a change will improve things.

 

[stefan92]

Seeing Max Eberl in tears looks convincing that he won't go to another club soon. That guy is really burned out and needs some time off.

 

[do.ob]

Seeing Max Eberl in tears looks convincing that he won't go to another club soon. That guy is really burned out and needs some time off.

For those who have missed it: his immediate resignation is official now:

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"I just want to be Max Eberl now. I want to see the world and for the first time in my life I only think about myself. I didn't make this decision to join another club. I don't want to have anything to do with football anymore for now."


And I agree with you, he just looks genuinely a bit broken and tortured in the presser:

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[Hansi Fick]

All the best to him. Hope he takes care of himself and gets better.

 

[mazhar13]

Yeah, Eberl looks more than burned out. He's doing the right thing by taking a break and recharging his batteries by stepping away from the football world.

For Gladbach, though, they're struggling to find a new director at the moment. Schröder isn't willing to join them and neither is Spycher. From their press conference, however, they seem to be okay with their head scout sort of filling the gaps for now, especially on the recruitment front.

 

[Zehner]

Very sad that he had to take that step. Eberl was easily one of the most likeable characters among Bundesliga representatives. Hope he recovers fully and maybe we'll see him back in the league a few years down the road.

 

[stefan92]

Almost feel sorry that it was us who appear to finally broke him. He was obsessed with the idea of winning a title with Gladbach and maybe kept on working longer than he should have for his own good, but the cup was there for the taking this season as both Dortmund and Bayern were already out, and then they lose against Hannover.

He was clearly not fit in the press conference after that match, even called his manager the wrong name (Dieter instead of Adi, which even caused rumuors that Dieter Hecking was on his way to replace Adi Hütter), that incident sounded a lot like the final push for him to leave.

 

[do.ob]

Very sad that he had to take that step. Eberl was easily one of the most likeable characters among Bundesliga representatives. Hope he recovers fully and maybe we'll see him back in the league a few years down the road.

Now isn't exactly a good time to speculate about his future, but given that he both has management experience and is probably seen as one of the most authentic persons in German football (and not just, because of recent events) I think that DFB really should try to get him in an important role when he feels well again.

 

[stefan92]

Now isn't exactly a good time to speculate about his future, but given that he both has management experience and is probably seen as one of the most authentic persons in German football (and not just, because of recent events) I think that DFB really should try to get him in an important role when he feels well again.

There is one huge flaw in this theory. Of course your arguments are absolutely on point and the DFB could profit massively from him. So obviously knowing how it operates we can be absolutely sure it won't happen.

 

[GhastlyHun]

Soooo i feel a bit dumb for asking, but why is there no footy anywhere this weekend?

 

[hellhunter]

Soooo i feel a bit dumb for asking, but why is there no footy anywhere this weekend?

South American international games. Bunch of bullshit.

 

[Acrobat7]

South American international games. Bunch of bullshit.

Not only South America. I believe everyone bar UEFA. It is the games from September 2020(!) that were canceled due to Covid.

 

[hellhunter]

Not only South America. I believe everyone bar UEFA. It is the games from September 2020(!) that were canceled due to Covid.

Oh, my bad. Only knew about SA. Hate international breaks (including UEFA) with a passion, so stand by my statement

 

[GhastlyHun]

I'm kind of okay with international breaks as long as the German NT plays, but this here sucks ass.

 

[do.ob]

It's actually quite interesting how many USMNT stars were signed by Bundesliga clubs this window:
The legendary Ricardo Pepi to Augsburg for €16m to Augsburg.
D.C. United star Kevin Paredes to Wolfsburg for €7m
FC Dallas star Justin Che loaned by Hoffenheim.
and apparently
Atlanta United star George Bello is also like to sign for Bielefeld for around €2m.

And to round things off we also have Leverkusen signing their third #9 and Wolfsburg working on an immediate transfer of Max Kruse, to reunite him with Kohfeldt for one last game, before they sack him after Fürth.

 

[stefan92]

Wolfsburg working on an immediate transfer of Max Kruse, to reunite him with Kohfeldt for one last game, before they sack him after Fürth.

Wow... it was always said that Kruse was the one reason why Bremen actually played one very decent season under Kohfeldt. If they really try to get him this just further proves that Kohfeldt really doesn't have a clue and needs such an old school character in his team to pull something off.

 

[do.ob]

Wow... it was always said that Kruse was the one reason why Bremen actually played one very decent season under Kohfeldt. If they really try to get him this just further proves that Kohfeldt really doesn't have a clue and needs such an old school character in his team to pull something off.

Well.. they aren't trying anymore:

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So Union sold their head of defense and the heart of their attack halfway through a season where actually have shot at finishing top four. That's quite sad.

 

[ForEverEleven]

I like it personally, serves that club just right. If you get Max Kruse, you know what you´re in for.

 

[Hansi Fick]

Well.. they aren't trying anymore:

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So Union sold their head of defense and the heart of their attack halfway through a season where actually have shot at finishing top four. That's quite sad.

It really is.

 

[uamini]

DFB Pokal quarter-finals:

Union - St. Pauli
HSV - Karlsruhe
Hannover - Leipzig
Bochum - Freiburg

Not exactly the type of draw Leipzig haters would have hoped for...Bochum beat Freiburg at home in the Bundesliga so it's not gonna be easy for them.

 

[stefan92]

DFB Pokal quarter-finals:

Union - St. Pauli
HSV - Karlsruhe
Hannover - Leipzig
Bochum - Freiburg

Not exactly the type of draw Leipzig haters would have hoped for...Bochum beat Freiburg at home in the Bundesliga so it's not gonna be easy for them.

We'll be fine, we are on a good run now

 

[Hansi Fick]

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Arrey-Mbi extends until 2025 and joins Köln on loan for 18 months, until summer 2023

 

[uamini]

...and Union spend 2.5M Euros on a 31-year-old striker who's spent his entire career in Cottbus and Paderborn. Of course Urs Fischer is going to make him look like a top tier Bundesliga player so who am I to judge?

 

[Blackwidow]

...and Union spend 2.5M Euros on a 31-year-old striker who's spent his entire career in Cottbus and Paderborn. Of course Urs Fischer is going to make him look like a top tier Bundesliga player so who am I to judge?

Might even be an upgrade. I remember last season when Kruse was out some weeks and Union still was performing great.

 

[stefan92]

Regarding Kruse there is another aspect to his move that wasn't mentioned here before: while he only played one season before in Wolfsburg, he actually has quite close ties to VW for years now as he owns his own motor sports team (MK10 Racing) and they are using VW cars. Might be another reason why he moved back to VW/Wolfsburg, might see an opportunity for synergy effects there.

 

[do.ob]

Union's transfer strategy is just so weird: they have signed about 20(!) players this season, for a combined fee of over €17m and previous years are a similar look.
And a lot of them look like nothing players on paper - from the 2nd or 3rd division even.
And then it's like half of them indeed barely even play a minute for the club and get dumped like 6-12 months later, or sit in the stands.
But then there are a few players like e.g. Behrens or Bülter before him, who are so happy to get to play in the first division they have a good few weeks by sheer brute force hard work, before they disappear again.
And then there's one or two players, who turn out to be geuinely quite decent, like Luthe for example, or say Andrich before him.

It completely goes against the methodical approach that most other clubs take, where "every" player is supposed to be a carefully scouted philosophical fit. But then we get to see international football in the big city again and just a few years after Windhorst's investment, too. So who are we to call them out.

Regarding Kruse there is another aspect to his move that wasn't mentioned here before: while he only played one season before in Wolfsburg, he actually has quite close ties to VW for years now as he owns his own motor sports team (MK10 Racing) and they are using VW cars. Might be another reason why he moved back to VW/Wolfsburg, might see an opportunity for synergy effects there.

I mean Kruse himself said that Wolfsburg made a very generous long term offer that he didn't want to turn down, so we don't really have to guess why he wanted this move.

 

[stefan92]

It completely goes against the methodical approach that most other clubs take, where "every" player is supposed to be a carefully scouted philosophical fit.

I disagree. I think they have an extremely methodical approach, but they do indeed focus on different things than most teams.

They rarely sign young players but most often players who can be relied on, who have a certain mental strength and who usually failed elsewhere. Most of their players have the motivation to prove themselves (again) and at the same time the experience to have a certain consistency.

I think this then leads to their extreme stability. They rarely are impressive as they just don't have the potential in the team to be that, but they also rarely are disappointing.

Total counter example to Leverkusen etc, but still a valid philosophy. The only problem is that you can't build a spine to rely on for a decade or so, you need always new players and are more vulnerable by bad signings then most teams.

 

[stefan92]

I mean Kruse himself said that Wolfsburg made a very generous long term offer that he didn't want to turn down, so we don't really have to guess why he wanted this move.

It's clear that money is the key factor for him for this move, I'm just wondering if it's only for football, or if he wants to use this new contract in Wolfsburg to also further push his team? It's speculative, but I could see it as an additional thought, especially when he talks about "long term" for an 18 month contract.