What’s next? The many tasks of Mister X

Borussia Mönchengladbach has to reposition itself after Max Eberl’s departure and probably reinvent itself. Team, youth, structure, coach. The successor has a lot of work to do. An overview.

Steffen Korell now has to do what he has been reluctant to do for years: Korell, who is responsible for squad planning at Borussia Mönchengladbach and is therefore a second-tier man, has to get out into the limelight. At least temporarily.

Korell will take over the sporting management of Borussia as a kind of “transitional sports director”. Until a successor to the retired Max Eberl is found. How long that will take is difficult to answer. But there should be an external solution, as President Rolf Königs assured. Until then, Korell will take over, flanked by Managing Director Stephan Schippers and Vice President Rainer Bonhof.

One, Schippers, is the master of numbers – but not a sports expert. The other, Bonhof, has been out of the operative business for years. Borussia needs one or more leaders for the sporting area – but they will face a mountain of delicate tasks.

Borussia Mönchengladbach – task: coach

Until a few days ago, Borussia Mönchengladbach seemed to have only one problem: Adi Hütter. Six points from the last eight games, the heavy cup defeat against the troubled second division team Hannover 96 (0:3), relegation battle. And in most cases, fully deserved defeats. It goes without saying that this is tied to the coach. But: Marco Rose showed that you can protect coaches and hold on to them in Gladbach.

Despite severe adversity, Max Eberl held on to Hütter’s predecessor for a long time. For many, that was the beginning of the sporting crisis that can be seen in the results today. However, Eberl seemed to stick to his strategy of continuity, although the effect that Hütter achieved at Eintracht Frankfurt has not yet been felt in Mönchengladbach and the opposite development has even started.

Hütter cannot be accused of not doing anything to counteract the undesirable development. He changed the system, relied on new players, tried out a lot. And yet there are only isolated successes. The extent to which the unrest within the squad can only be attributed to the coach can be discussed. Hütter did not adopt an intact climate and has to continue to deal with the problems he inherited.

It is also clear that the transfer fee of 7.5 million euros, which is transferred to Frankfurt for Hütter, represents a hurdle for dismissal. Hütter has a long-term contract until 2024. A severance payment would be correspondingly high. A successor who would have to represent a certain caliber would not demand much less salary.

The thesis that the departure of Eberl, who took Hütter and stuck with him, could really pose a problem for Hütter should be treated with caution. With all the tasks (see below) that Gladbach has after Eberl’s abrupt departure, a change of coach would just be another big construction site that is currently not needed. Especially since one cannot say conclusively whether Hütter is really the problem.

What is certain is that the end of the season will be settled. The structure in Gladbach should be in place by then and then be ready to assess the coach’s work. If it comes to descent, you would have certainty anyway.