FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – Eintracht Frankfurt has persuaded Spanish manager Alberto Riera to leave Slovenian league leaders NK Celje and become head coach.
The Bundesliga club announced on Friday that Riera, 43, has agreed a contract until June 2028 and will take over as manager on Monday.
Riela Replacement of Dino Topmelerwas fired on January 18 after a four-game winless streak. The winning streak extended to seven games. Frankfurt lost three games under interim under-21 coach Dennis Schmidt.
Schmidt will continue to be in charge during Sunday’s visit to Bayer Leverkusen.
Frankfurt said Riera had specifically asked Celje to stay on for the other match against Maribor on Sunday. Celje, who are based in northeastern Slovenia, lead the league with 12 points, and Riela also helped the team reach the UEFA Conference League finals.
Riera’s first coaching job was also with Slovenian side Olympia Ljubljana, where he led them to a league and cup double in 2023. He then joined Celier, but left the team at the top of the league and moved to Bordeaux. He returned to Celje in 2024.
During his playing days, Riera played as a left-back/winger for Mallorca, Bordeaux, Espanyol, Liverpool, Olympiakos and Galatasaray. He was also on loan at Manchester City. He finished his career in Slovenia. Riera also played in 16 games for Spain.
Riera’s first job in Frankfurt will be to fix the team’s leaky defence. Frankfurt had conceded three goals in all five games played this year before losing 2-0 to Tottenham in the Champions League last week. At that stage, Frankfurt had already been eliminated.
Frankfurt’s sporting director Markus Krochet said: “We have deliberately chosen a manager who plays modern, intensive and attacking football.” “He has international experience, a clear playing philosophy and an equally clear approach in his day-to-day work with the team.”
Pablo Lemon Arteta and Lorenzo Dolcetti also joined as Riera’s assistants after the last game against Celje.
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