Sports Weekly all-media reporter Huang Sijun
Seeing the crumbling of his painstakingly built Borussia Moncheng, Max Eberl did not do everything he could to straighten it out, as people expected, but chose to flee because he had "lost his strength." After the startling news of Eber's abrupt resignation came out in the German media on Thursday night, Mönchengladbach held a press conference at exactly 14:00 on Friday to confirm the news.
On January 28, Eber tearfully announced his resignation as director of Borussia Moncheng.
The reporters were confronted by the presidium chairman Koenigs, the vice chairman Bonkhov, the general manager Siepers, and the protagonist, the general manager and sports director Eber. By the time he said his first words, Ebel was already choking up and bursting into tears, "I'm exhausted and exhausted. I'm going to end something in my life. Football is my life, football is my joy, but many things are no longer the case. I must have made a decision. ”
Resignation due to "illness", nothing else?
According to Ebel, the reason he abruptly resigned was because he was ill, "nothing to do with damaged self-esteem, nothing to do with depression, nothing to do with a lover." This is clearly to refute what the German media, especially Bild, reported thursday night, which pointed out that Eber resigned not because of rumors of burnout, but because of depression, impaired self-esteem and a loved one.
The frustration is due to the club's extremely complex financial situation, coupled with the impact of the new crown epidemic, which has severely constrained Ebel's transfer and contract extension work. The failure to fire Rozer early in the second half of last season (which ultimately led to the missed European qualification and the corresponding income), the buyout of Austrian youngster Hannes Wolff, who never proved he had The Bundesliga level, the failure to renew his contract with Güntel and Zakaria, and the fact that Hüttle, who spent 7.5 million euros last summer from Frankfurt, are on the verge of being dismissed have all justified Eber's criticism for nearly a year, and he believes he does not deserve such treatment. As for the lover, it was his Swiss girlfriend, Cedrina Charle. The 33-year-old former TV host resigned from Borussia Monchenging two weeks ago, and it makes sense for Eber to leave with her now.
After Ebel left, Borussia Möncheng's manager Hüttle was in an even more dangerous situation.
For Eber's face-to-face rebuttal of his report at a press conference, Bild reporter Christian Hornon, who wrote the report, expressed understanding. Eber also criticized reporters for talking nonsense before he could speak, but Hornon stressed: "When we got the news of his early termination on Thursday afternoon, I wanted to give him a chance to speak, but neither he nor his press spokesman commented." At the same time, Hornon stressed that Eber's resignation was definitely related to depression, damaged self-esteem and a lover. In fact, not only Bild, but even Kicker noted in a report Thursday night that Eberle has endured increasing criticism over the past year, especially over the rebuilding of the team.
Borussia Borussia Borussia Moncheng's athletic decline has been going on for a year, starting in mid-February last year when Rozer officially announced that he would move to Borussia Dortmund after the end of the season. From the initial seven consecutive defeats to the current three consecutive defeats, from last season's German Cup and Champions League out, to the Bundesliga ranking 8th will miss European qualification, and now the German Cup 1/8 finals have been eliminated by Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga, the Bundesliga has been hovering in the lower half of the table, only 3 points higher than the third-to-last Augsburg in 20 rounds, Borussia Moncheng seems to have returned to the dangerous situation when Eber had just become the head of sports.
From a decade of revival to a patchwork
Ebel became head of sport on October 19, 2008. At that time, Borussia Möncheng had just undergone a change of coach, and the veteran coach Hans Meier returned from Nuremberg to fight the fire, replacing the Dutchman Lu Xukai, who had led the team back to the Bundesliga the previous season. When Lu Xukai finished class, Borussia Moncheng only accumulated 3 points in 7 rounds, ranking at the bottom of the Bundesliga standings. After Meier's return, the former sports director Ziggy joined the coaching staff and became an assistant coach, so Eber, who was originally the head of youth training, became Ziggy's successor. Ziggy resigned on private grounds after only two months as a teaching assistant, while Eber sat in the position of sports director for more than 13 years and 3 months.
Hiring Swiss coach Favre in February 2011 was the most important decision of Eber's tenure.
It was also during Eber's reign that Borussia Moncheng, a former Bundesliga champion who had been reduced to a Bundesliga and Bundesliga lift at the turn of the century, finally stopped associating with the likes of Bielefeld, Karlsruhe, and St. Pauli, and returned to the Bundesliga after two thrilling relegations. Marked by the arrival of Swiss coach Favre on Valentine's Day 2011 (14 February), Borussia Moncheng ushered in a "decade of revival", including a 3rd place in the Bundesliga in 2014/15, a third and a 4nd in the UEFA Champions League group stage three times, reaching the quarter-finals last season, as well as four europa League participations. The "Decade of Revival" also produced a large number of players such as Ter Stegen, Reus, Alango, Xhaka, Kramer, Kreuzer, Raphael, Zome, Torgan Hazard, Styndall, Jonas Hoffmann, Güntel and so on.
Success is also Ebel, defeat is also Ebel. After the "Revival Decade", it is the free fall of the past year. Perhaps by misjudging the competitive and economic situation, or perhaps by gradually losing the energy to do the job, Ebel allowed Roze, who had lost the locker room and fan support, to work until the end of last season, not to decisively sell Ginter and Zakaria before they entered the contract year, and to miss the best time to sell Tulum Jr. at a high price and return sufficient transfer funds. As a result, a group of high-paid and high-priced players who had been centrifugal for a long time all remained, and the well-known Huttle who had been in charge of Frankfurt in the past 3 years took over Rozer, and with no European task, Borussia Moncheng had all the capital to immediately return to the top 4. However, it all just looks beautiful. The hearts of the people were scattered early in the morning, and the team could no longer be taken.
Veteran Kreuzer hit back twice, with Borussia Moncheng losing 2-1 at home to the Berliner Union in the 20th round of the Bundesliga.
Ahead of this international break, Borussia Borussia Borussia had unsurprisingly lost 2-1 at home to the mediocre Berlin Union, and Hüttle had run out of options. Just before Eber's sudden resignation, the media had already rumored that the next two relegation battles between Bielefeld and home to Augsburg would be The "decisive battle" for Hüttle. In the event of any further missteps, the Austrian coach will leave the classroom, and Nico Kovac, who was recently fired from Monaco, is one of the potential successors. And now Ebel's departure is equivalent to pronouncing Acetre's "death reprieve".
Ebel's position will be temporarily replaced by his right-hand man, Corell, head of professional football and scouting. At least until the winter window closes, Correll will be under a lot of pressure, because he will have to determine whether to send away Ginter and Zakaria early, even including Preya, Thuram Jr. and Ben Sebani, who are not lacking in buyers, and whether he can add one or two players who can immediately help the team out of trouble before the window closes on January 31.
However, regardless of how well he performed in the final days of the winter window, Correll had no intention of officially replacing Eber, and Borussia Moncheng will seek an external solution to the problem of Eber's successor. However, the rumored candidates such as former manager Heikin (now a sports director in the Bundesliga at Nuremberg), Ruben Schroeder (head of professional football at Schalke 04) and Misrintatt (sports director in Stuttgart) are not very feasible at present. Eberl, who has spoken to senior management on the issue of succession, thinks that with the current difficult situation, it may be better to take a different path, "Maybe something new will be good for you." ”
Borussia Borussia "retains" the contract
There is no doubt that Eber chose the most inappropriate time to leave, but from the perspective of human nature, he should not be blamed in any way, let alone himself who is most painful. The weary Ebel "wants to see the world, have fun, doesn't want to have any responsibility, just wants to be Ebel." That is why I have taken this extremely difficult decision at this extremely difficult time. But for the first time in my life, I thought for myself. “
For reasons of physical health, Eber had to jump ship at Borussia Moncheng's most dangerous moment.
Eberl says he's a perfectionist who pursues 100 percent of everything he does without compromise, "Since last year, I've found that this perfectionism consumes too much power." "As early as a year ago, Eberl took a month off due to being overwhelmed and went to Switzerland to recuperate. In October last year, he finally asked for a resignation from the top. For some time thereafter, Chairman Koenigs repeatedly persuaded him to stay. In the last two games of his tenure, the away German Cup against Hanover and the home league against the Berlin League, Ebel did not sit on the bench due to illness. Eventually, top brass had to accept Eber's resignation at a meeting Thursday afternoon.
Speaking at a press conference, Ebel said: "The club did everything they could to convince me. He [Chairman Koenigs] opened all the doors for me and gave me every opportunity to find time and tranquility, but I had to make a decision. I had to leave. Eberl stressed that his resignation was purely for health reasons and there was absolutely no idea of job hopping, "If anyone feels that I am doing this to transfer, then please forget this idea." I purely wanted to leave. ”
Ebel only renewed his contract with Borussia Monchengung until June 30, 2026. As for the termination of the contract, it was not mentioned at the press conference. But Kicker revealed that Borussia Moncheng would keep the contract. Once Ebel wants to make a comeback after recharging, the new owner must first pay a termination fee to Borussia Monchengung. Is there any possibility of a comeback for the 48-year-old Eberl? Of course. Ronnick was 53 years old when he had to drop the Schalke 04 whip due to mental burnout. After a rest of more than 9 months, he began the great "Red Bull Project". And 10 years later, he even took on the most stressful job of his career so far – coaching Manchester United.
Lonnick originally put down schalke 04 for mental health problems, but after his comeback, he did a big job.
After all, Ebel is still relatively young and can rest for a longer time. With his work history at Borussia Möncheng and the popularity and reputation he has accumulated in the industry, as long as he is willing to go out of the mountains, he is not worried about finding the ideal job. After Eber announced his resignation, clubs including Bayern Munich, Schalke 04, Cologne, as well as well-known stars such as Tony Kroos, Gundogan, Jérôme Boateng, Styndall and others expressed their best wishes for him, especially good health.
Former German international Harman, who came out of bayern youth with Ebel, said: "I've known Max for almost 40 years. When he was 10 years old, I played with him. Max has always been a fighter. He said at a news conference that although others are more talented, he can always execute in place. For him to handle this so openly, you have to pay tribute to him for taking off his hat. Today we have lost not only a brilliant manager, but also an outstanding person. ”