For one thing, Riera’s style of play is raising eyebrows. Whilst he has noticeably stabilised the defence – which was more than shaky under his predecessor Dino Toppmöller – the attack has suffered as a result. The team’s core has looked increasingly lacking in ideas in recent matches, as was the case in Sunday’s 1–2 defeat to Mainz and the 0–0 draw at FC St. Pauli. Even against Heidenheim, who are virtually relegated, they managed only a single goal.
Riera also raised eyebrows with his press conference following the defeat in Mainz, as he described a win for his team in Rhineland-Palatinate as a “miracle” had Eintracht taken three points in Mainz. In doing so, he pointed out that Frankfurt had won just once in their last 21 away matches in Mainz. “Today we didn’t achieve the miracle,” he said, explaining: “Because I would say that winning here is a miracle – because in 21 games, Eintracht have won just once in Mainz. Once out of 21. That means if we’d come here and won, it would have been a miracle. So we didn’t achieve the miracle.”
On the other hand, support for Riera within the team is waning, as players reportedly view his tactical instructions as too complex. The numerous meetings, some of which are said to drag on for over an hour, are reportedly overwhelming the Frankfurt players. The decision to drop Mario Götze from the squad in Mainz, despite him reportedly being on the verge of a contract extension, and the public dressing-down following the defeat against Mainz 05 have also reportedly not gone down well with some members of the squad.