Now Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Dino Toppmöller on the touchline for Bayern Munich, deputising for the ill Julian Nagelsmann. - © Guenter Schiffmann via www.imago-images.de/imago images/Schiffmann
Now Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Dino Toppmöller on the touchline for Bayern Munich, deputising for the ill Julian Nagelsmann. - © Guenter Schiffmann via www.imago-images.de/imago images/Schiffmann
bundesliga

Dino Toppmöller: who is Eintracht Frankfurt's new coach and Julian Nagelsmann's former assistant?

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Previously Julian Nagelsmann's right-hand man at RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, Dino Toppmöller has now stepped out of the shadows to take his first head coach role in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt.

bundesliga.com details where Nagelsmann's one-time assistant and new Frankfurt boss gained his own coaching stripes...

Dino Toppmöller

Age: 42
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Role: Head coach

Key stats

As a player, Toppmöller spent most of his time in Bundesliga 2 and the third division with Bochum, Frankfurt, Jahn Regensburg and Erzgebirge Aue.

After a few games with Augsburg, he joined Luxembourg side Dudelange in 2010, scoring three goals in five games as a prelude to what would eventually be an even more successful spell there as head coach.

Watch: Toppmöller on stepping in for Nagelsmann at Bayern

Before returning to Luxembourg, Toppmöller ended his playing career with SV Mehring and, together with his brother Tommy Toppmöller, he took his first steps in coaching as a player-manager at the Rhineland-Palatinate club, taking sole charge after Robert Jung resigned and securing them survival in the Oberliga on the final day of the season.

Toppmöller pulled on his playing boots again as player-manager at RM Hamm Benfica in Luxembourg, but it was his coaching style which was drawing admirers and, in 2016, the defending Luxembourg champions Dudelange hired him.

Toppmöller led Dudelange to the Luxembourg league title in three straight seasons between 2016 and 2019, completing a league, cup and league cup treble in his very first season, and he also guided them into the group stage of a European competition for the first time in their history, with tasty games against AC Milan, Real Betis and Olympiacos on the menu in another successful 2018/19, which he ended with another domestic treble.

After guiding them once again into Europe, he responded to the call from Leipzig to be part of Nagelsmann's coaching staff and also followed him to Munich in 2021, deputising for him in a UEFA Champions League win in Benfica and a Bundesliga victory over Hoffenheim as illness kept Nagelsmann off the touchline for a brief spell.

Unlike his son, Klaus Toppmöller was rarely so laid back when he was head coach of Bayer Leverkusen. - Phil Cole/Getty Images

Did you know?

Toppmöller is the son of former Bayer Leverkusen coach Klaus Toppmöller, who famously led Die Werkself into the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2002 – the year they also finished runners up in the Bundesliga, and lost the DFB Cup final, earning the nickname 'Neverkusen'.

While Dino inherited his dad's coaching genes, their personalities differ – at least according to his father. "I used to race onto the field to celebrate when my team scored a goal, but Dino's always so relaxed," he said. "He's the same even when we're in the car and maybe have an argument." Klaus says that did not come from him. "He's the most down-to-earth guy around – he must have got that from his mother," he added.

What they are saying

"It was only a matter of time till Dino worked as a head coach in the Bundesliga. It was no surprise that Julian Nagelsmann took him with to Bayern. The way he plays football fits with our philosophy. And as a former Eintracht player, who speaks fluent English and French, Dino will have no problems quickly finding his feet in Frankfurt." - Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krösche after appointing Toppmöller.

"We chatted on the phone and knew instantly that we were on the same wavelength; Dino's a relaxed guy who has an incredibly big heart and huge understanding of football. He's a great addition to my coaching team and deserves a spell in the spotlight. " - Former Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann.