When Max Eberl left Borussia Park for the last time on Friday in an official capacity as Borussia Mönchengladbach’s sporting director, he drove along Hennes-Weisweiler-Allee and along it passed Dr.-Adalbert-Jordan-Straße and Helmut- crossed Grashoff-Strasse. Around the stadium in the south of the city, the streets are named after men who have had a decisive influence on the history of the club. Eberl also helped shape the club as sports director for 13 years. The question is whether a street near the stadium will one day be named after him.
The 48-year-old from Lower Bavaria has often been called the face of Borussia. On Friday you saw this face with red eyes and sad as never before. Eberl had announced his immediate resignation because he was drained and exhausted and could no longer do it. Almost 200,000 people have watched this press conference on YouTube so far. Eberl received a lot of praise for his openness and for having the courage to show vulnerability.
“One of the few in this business who is so loyal, honest and fair that he never bends for the wrong reason,” Gladbach footballer Christoph Kramer wrote on the Internet. Kramer’s teammate Patrick Herrmann was also known there: “Even a day later it still feels unreal; Borussia was Max Eberl and Max Eberl was Borussia.” Even the often not squeamish industry commentator Stefan Effenberg said, “That’s a sign of strength, not weakness.”
Eberl’s decision surprised those responsible at the club
On Friday, Gladbach’s Vice President Rainer Bonhof and CFO Stephan Schippers sat on the podium with Eberl. Both seemed touched. “It hurts,” said Bonhof in a shaky voice. “I’m losing a friend and partner,” said Schippers. President Rolf Königs sounded irritating, if perhaps unintentionally, when he said about Eberl’s resignation well before the end of the contract, which was only extended until 2026 a year ago: “We respected that, we didn’t accept it – respected!”
Eberl’s four-and-a-half-year contract has not simply been terminated. he rests “First we have to respect Max Eberl’s situation and not the contractual things,” said Bonhof on Sunday at Sport1, “everything else is still pending.” The advisor that Eberl has recently had could possibly also hold talks on this. Long-term contracts are a valuable asset in professional football. Even under such conditions.
As early as October, Eberl had indicated to the Borussia Executive Committee that he wanted to leave Gladbach. Bonhof revealed that he first mentioned the acute exhaustion last Thursday with this clarity. “It was a surprise for us.”
Transfer option: Denis Zakaria could leave Borussia free of charge in the summer.
(Photo: Bernd Thissen/dpa)
Especially since Eberl’s resignation hit Gladbach at the most difficult time in the recent past. The side have won just one of their last nine competitive games, are out of the DFB-Pokal and just four points away from a relegation zone. There is still a chance of making transfers this season until Monday. The club would like to sell Denis Zakaria and Matthias Ginter, who were free of contract and transfer in the summer, immediately in order to be able to get a transfer. At least that could have worked for Zakaria, on Sunday came the first reports from Italy that a move to Juventus Turin will be completed immediately. If that were to happen, Eberl would have even initiated it.
Jörg Schmadtke, Samir Arabi and Rouven Schröder are traded as candidates for Eberl’s successor
The man who is now taking over Eberl’s duties immediately and only temporarily is scouting boss Steffen Korell, 50, who has been at the club for 21 years. Eberl worked closely with him. “But he says that the front row is not his world,” reveals Bonhof.
“We are looking externally,” says President Königs. So far, it is at best clear who will not: such as the former Gladbach coach and current sports director of the second division 1. FC Nürnberg, Dieter Hecking. “There were no discussions,” says Hecking. Candidates traded in the media are Jörg Schmadtke (VfL Wolfsburg), Samir Arabi (Arminia Bielefeld) and Rouven Schröder (Schalke 04). Bonhof, Korell and Schippers are in charge of the search.
Coach Adi Hütter has not yet commented on the resignation of the man who brought him to Gladbach last summer. The team will train again on Tuesday, next Saturday Borussia will be a guest in the first basement duel in Bielefeld, and FC Augsburg will come the following week. Within eight days it must be shown how well the players are coping with the turbulence in the club and whether the club can emerge from the turmoil unscathed. Relegation early and a new sports director, or rather: the new face of Borussia – these two things are at the top of Gladbach’s agenda.