Frankfurt's Managerial Search: Krösche Eyes Jaissle After Riera Misjudgement
Eintracht Frankfurt stand at a crossroads again, but this time Markus Krösche is determined not to ignore his own rulebook.
The sporting director has history with Matthias Jaissle. Both men grew up in the Red Bull cosmos: Krösche at RB Leipzig, Jaissle at the helm of RB Salzburg. Twice already, Krösche tried to bring him to Frankfurt—first in the summer of 2023 after Oliver Glasner’s departure, then again during the winter break. Twice it failed.
The fallout from Plan B is still fresh.
Riera Experiment Backfires
When the Jaissle move collapsed, Frankfurt turned to Albert Riera as Dino Toppmöller’s successor. On paper, it was a daring, modern choice. In reality, it blew up quickly.
The Spaniard, widely labelled “difficult to manage”, clashed with key players, sparred with the media, and never truly settled. Four wins from 14 matches told its own story. The club slid out of the European places. The atmosphere soured.
Krösche did not duck the blame.
“I put him in a situation where he had little chance of success,” he admitted at the end-of-season press conference. Appointing Riera, he said, was “my mistake. My misjudgement.” With that, he took direct responsibility for missing out on European qualification.
The most striking part? He openly confessed that he had gone against his own core principle.
“The key rule I brushed aside is simple: if you have to replace a manager mid-season, don’t bring in someone who doesn’t know the league or have top-flight experience.” He knew the risk. He took it anyway. “I had a feeling, a conviction... I always act on conviction. It was so strong that I disregarded the principle of caution.”
This time, the context is different. The timing is calmer. And the profile of the leading candidate fits the rule, not breaks it.
Jaissle: High Intensity, High Appeal
As the season winds down, Eintracht’s search is already moving at speed. According to Sport1, Jaissle ticks a key box: the club want a German-speaking coach who can revive their trademark high-intensity football and light up the Waldstadion again. Jaissle, with his Red Bull schooling and front-foot approach, fits that brief almost perfectly.
He also knows the Bundesliga, even if only from his playing days at TSG Hoffenheim. That matters to Krösche now.
Frankfurt have already made contact with the 36-year-old, who has just lifted the Asian Champions League for a second time with Al-Ahli and remains under contract there until 2027. Any deal would require negotiation and likely a compensation fee.
On Jaissle’s side, there is clear openness to a return to Europe. Reports indicate he is willing to accept a significant pay cut from his current salary of around 15 million euros if a serious project in the Bundesliga or Premier League comes forward. The financial gap is steep, but the ambition aligns.
The pressure finally shifts to whether Frankfurt can turn long-standing admiration into an actual appointment.
Hütter in the Frame Again
Jaissle is not the only name on the shortlist. Adi Hütter, the coach who previously guided Eintracht to the Champions League and carved out a fierce, transitional side, is once again a leading candidate.
He, too, fits the desired profile. Krösche has been explicit about what he wants from the next man on the touchline: a coach with a “clear vision” of “how he wants to play football”. Eintracht must rediscover “a certain intensity” in their game, a blend of quick counter-attacks and controlled possession.
“We need to master both styles to regularly compete for European places,” Krösche explained. The message is unmistakable: Frankfurt will not settle for mid-table drift.
Hütter brings another advantage. Unlike Jaissle, he is currently unattached after leaving AS Monaco in October last year. Re-hiring him would not require a compensation fee. For a club that must balance ambition with financial reality, that is no small factor.
So the choice sharpens: pay to prise Jaissle out of a lucrative contract in Asia, or lean into familiarity and cost-efficiency with Hütter.
Decision Imminent
What is clear is the urgency. “We are in talks. We want to find a solution soon,” Krösche said recently of the managerial search. According to Bild, Eintracht Frankfurt aim to finalise their decision as early as next week.
The stakes are obvious. After a season of missteps and a coach who never truly fit, Frankfurt cannot afford another misjudgement. Krösche has already admitted one gamble went wrong.
Now he stands between two very different kinds of conviction—and this time, he cannot ignore his own rules.
