Fredi Bobic had been in charge of sporting matters at Eintracht Frankfurt as the board member for sport for precisely 1,819 days, before he bid farewell in the supervisory board meeting on Tuesday afternoon. They’ve been 1,819 days in which the 49-year-old’s actions have had a big impact at SGE.
After Bobic was elected to the board on 1 June 2016 following the departure of then chairman Heribert Bruchhagen, Eintracht reached the final of the DFB Cup in his very first season, losing narrowly to Borussia Dortmund.
Because good performances attract interest, Bobic and his colleagues have been faced with the task of replacing key players season after season and putting together a competitive yet financially sound team. In 2018, the Eagles again reached the final of the cup, where they pulled off a shock against Bayern Munich and brought the trophy back to Frankfurt for the first time in 30 years.
In general, Eintracht’s performance on the pitch under Bobic has been on a steady upward trend. Having just survived relegation in the play-off against Nürnberg when he arrived, the Eagles finished 11th in the league in Bobic’s first year. In the four seasons since, Eintracht have always been in the top 10 in the Bundesliga and have played in Europe in three of his five campaigns.
Thanks in part to the club‘s profitable and prudent transfer policy, Eintracht have been able to raise their sporting success at national level to new heights over the past two seasons, despite the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. With fifth place this season, Bobic leaves the club with their best finish since the 1993/94 campaign. Markus Krösche will take up the reins as his successor from 1 June – and continue Bobic’s successful work.
