Former Eintracht Frankfurt boss Albert Riera has criticised the quality and level of the Bundesliga, reports Andrea Weiss.
Riera was bought in by Frankfurt in February, following a less-than-impressive season so far and the fear of missing out on European football altogether. In total, the coach lasted 14 matches at Frankfurt, winning four, drawing five, and losing five. Which, given his record at Frankfurt before getting sacked in May and his recent comments, could be considered a little on the nose.
Riera’s main issue was the fact that most of the bottom-half teams played in the same way, and therefore, the analytical role of this job became very repetitive.
“All the teams from the lower part of the table play the same way. When you analyse them, you feel like you’re playing against the same opponent every week.”
He summed up his thoughts by explaining that “the level was disappointing.”
Nine of Riera’s 14 Bundesliga matches were against teams in the bottom half of the table. From those nine games, he only managed to win three.
Whilst teams down the bottom do tend to play a similar defensive tactic, particularly against those challenging for Europe, one thing became clear during Riera’s time at Frankfurt. He clearly wasn’t very good at getting results against teams in the bottom half. Maybe the Groundhog Day approach to his analysis had something to do with it?
In the end, Frankfurt finished 8th in the Bundesliga, missing out on European competition for the upcoming season.
GGFN | Jamie Allen
