New Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Adi Hütter: "I want to look ahead"
As he kicks off his second spell in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt, new head coach Adi Hütter expressed his delight with the Eagles' first day back at training as they begin their preparations for the 2026/27 campaign.
Hütter returned to Frankfurt to replace Albert Riera, having previously sat in the dugout at Deutsche Bank Park between 2018 and 2021. The 56-year-old put his new charges through their paces for the first time on Monday.
Following the maiden session, which was attented by around 2,000 fans, the Swiss tactician expressed his happiness with how things had gone. "To be honest, it felt great and very familiar," he said. "Seeing how many spectators attended the first training session shows that the enthusiasm is there. I think we also have something to give back. We want to involve people.
"It feels strange returning to the pitch after five years, but it felt like it hadn't been that long ago at all. That gives me a tremendous amount of strength and confidence. That's why I signed here. I'm incredibly pleased that 2,000 people came out. I have a good impression of the lads."
The first session gave Hütter the chance to get some early impressions of the squad at his disposal, while he also shared an insight into how he wants his team to play.
"Everyone knows the kind of football I want to see," he said. "Proactive and exciting, to get the stadium, which has an incredible energy, involved.
"In my opinion, that's only possible if you try to play forward from the first minute, get involved in every challenge, and give everything on the pitch so that the fans see that you want to win every game. If that doesn't always work out, but the fans see that we've given our all, they'll never be disappointed."
Hütter's appointment came following a frustrating 2025/26 term, which saw Frankfurt miss out on European football and go through two permanent head coaches in Riera and, before him, Dino Toppmöller. "We're certainly facing a potentially major transformation," Hütter continued. "That's why I don't want to talk about what was, but rather look ahead."
Frankfurt's first warm-up match comes on 18 July against Gießen, while their first competitive game is at St. Tönis in the DFB Cup first round on 21 August. The following weekend, they travel to the capital to face Union Berlin in their Bundesliga curtain-raiser.
