Borussia Mönchengladbach: Max Eberl stops

On October 19, 2008, Max Eberl took up his job as sporting director at Borussia Mönchengladbach. At the end of January it will be in its 14th year. According to information from our editorial team, Eberl and the club management will confirm the manager’s resignation at a press conference on Friday at 2 p.m. Eberl moved to Gladbach as an active football professional in 1999, headed the youth division after the end of his career and was finally promoted to manager.

There was initially no official statement on Thursday. Then a press conference was scheduled with Eberl, President Rolf Königs, his deputy Rainer Bonhof and Managing Director Stephan Schippers. To According to information from our editorial team, Eberl has already said goodbye to Borussia’s employees and the team in a tearful meeting. At first it was said, he wants to join another club. However, “Sky” now reports that the rumors about RB Leipzig are irrelevant because the position will be filled elsewhere. In addition, according to our information, Eberl first wants to distance himself from football because he is exhausted after many years in this job.

Eberl only extended his contract until 2026 at the end of 2020 and immediately took a one-month break, which he ended prematurely due to the Breel Embolo party scandal. Shortly thereafter, coach Marco Rose announced his move to Borussia Dortmund, boar stuck with him despite great unrest around the club and despite a losing streak, with fans in particular demanding Rose’s release. Under the coach, the Gladbachers finally missed the European Cup in eighth place.

Frankfurt’s coach Adi followed Rose Hütter, which cost 7.5 million euros and is already counted after 22 points from 20 games. According to information from our editorial team, a separation is currently not up for debate. Borussia only occupies twelfth place in the Bundesliga and recently failed miserably at second division side Hannover 96 in the DFB Cup – with what Eberls dream of getting “something tinny” has burst again.

A day before round of 16 out had the 48-year-old his last public appearance for many days. At the obligatory press conference, he was unusually taciturn and spoke to coaches Hütter with the first name “Dieter” (his pre-predecessor was called Dieter Hecking). In Hanover was missing boar then, he was ill, said the association. Also in the 1-2 defeat against Union Berlin boar not in the stadium.

Speculations about his future had increased from day to day. In Steffen Korell, head of the scouting department, there is a possible successor from within the company. He could at least temporarily do the Eberl job. Dieter Hecking, now sports director at 1. FC Nürnberg, is also being discussed, as is ex-Gladbach professional Martin Stranzl. Schalke’s Rouven Schröder has already been traded in the past, as has Christoph Spycher, who won the championship with Hütter in Bern. Jörg Schmadtke’s future at VfL Wolfsburg is still unclear, but RB Salzburg’s sports director Christoph Freund has announced that he intends to fulfill his contract until 2023.

When Eberl succeeded Christian Ziege as manager more than 13 years ago, Gladbach had just been promoted to the Bundesliga again, but had already fired coach Jos Luhukay after a few matchdays and was in the relegation battle. The fact that it is again about staying up today may give the story a bracket, but leaves out the realms in which Borussia moved for years, also because of Eberl’s work – higher and longer than most fans after two descents and dreary 15 years would have dared to dream.

Gladbach finished in the top nine teams in the table ten times in a row. “Even if you can’t hear it anymore,” Eberl often said to fans and the media, but the attitude was almost sacred. Borussia have reached the European Cup six times since surviving relegation in 2011 and even got involved three times in the Champions League. In addition to the long-standing success coach Lucien Favre, Eberl is considered the architect of the upswing.

Almost three years ago he took a step that was classified as jumping over his own shadow: Eberl, with the reputation of a notorious coach supporter, dismissed Hecking despite an upcoming European Cup qualifier in order to get Rose for the new season should put his RB pressing style “on top” on the footballing fine foals. With the qualification for the premier class, everyone felt vindicated. But it was not only the outbreak of the corona pandemic that made it increasingly difficult to implement Borussia’s successful modern work and business model.

While retaining all the top players was considered a great success in 2020, the club would have been in dire need of transfer earnings in 2021. In addition, the squad was increasingly older, a number of professionals seemed fed up or seemed too fond of moving to larger clubs. There was also unrest on several levels, Eberl himself was involved in one chapter: team manager Sedrina Schaller, his new partner, found no acceptance in the team and resigned her job shortly before Christmas.

In general, the discrepancies between Eberl and the club management are said to have increased recently. The news that the manager is retiring now causes a big bang at the end of an era.

Here is the photo gallery: This is Max Eberl