Eintracht Frankfurt changes coach, Mainz signs national team player, OFC mourns Manfred Ritschel and Wehen Wiesbaden loses top scorer Fatih Kaya
Eintracht Frankfurt's coaching carousel is spinning, Mainz is bringing in a Peruvian Franconian, OFC is mourning a legend and SVWW has to replace one of its top players – that's the current situation at the four other major football clubs in the Rhine-Main area.
Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is undergoing numerous changes on the coaching staff: Adi Hütter will be the new head coach. The 56-year-old Austrian succeeds Albert Riera, who was dismissed after less than six months. Hütter previously coached Eintracht from 2018 to 2021.
Former U19 head coach Alexander Meier will become assistant coach for the first team. Hütter's coaching staff also includes assistant coaches Christian Peintinger and Klaus Schmidt, as well as goalkeeping coach Jan Zimmermann. Patrick Glöckner will be the new U21 coach. The 49-year-old was most recently head coach at TSV 1860 Munich and succeeds Dennis Schmitt, who is leaving the club after two years at his own request.
The contracts of defender Timothy Chandler and youth goalkeeper Amil Siljevic have been extended. Midfielder Krisztián Lisztes, however, will remain on loan to Ferencvárosi TC in Hungary for another year. Youth player Noah Fenyö, on the other hand, is making a permanent move to Újpest FC in Hungary. Eintracht Frankfurt has secured a buy-back option for the defender.
Mainz
Mainz have secured the services of Fabio Gruber. The 23-year-old central defender and Peruvian international joins from 1. FC Nürnberg, where he served as team captain. Gruber, who was born in Augsburg, made a total of 41 appearances in the second division for Nürnberg since the beginning of 2025 – 38 of them playing the full 90 minutes.
Nikolas Veratschnig, on the other hand, is leaving the club after two years and returning to Austria to join RB Salzburg. The 23-year-old winger made 36 Bundesliga appearances for Mainz after his transfer from Wolfsberger AC in 2024. Kasey Bos will join Excelsior Rotterdam on loan for the upcoming season. The 22-year-old Australian, who missed a significant portion of last season due to a shoulder injury, is expected to gain valuable playing experience at the Dutch Eredivisie club. Daniel Gleiber will go to 1. FC Saarbrücken on loan. The 21-year-old midfielder primarily played for Mainz's U23 team in the Regionalliga last season.
Offenbach
OFC mourns the loss of former Bundesliga player Manfred Ritschel. The attacking midfielder, who wore the Kickers jersey from 1972 to 1976, passed away a few days after his 80th birthday. Ritschel made 144 appearances for the Kickers, scoring 28 goals. Together with Siggi Held and Erwin Kostedde, he formed an outstanding attacking trio.
Jan-Hendrik Marx is returning to Bieberer Berg. The 31-year-old most recently played for Dynamo Dresden and brings a wealth of experience from the second and third divisions. The defender already played for OFC's U19 team and progressed through the reserve team to the first team, where he remained until 2019 and became a key player.
Defensive midfielder Robin Krauße joins from Sandhausen. Center forward Jan Becker, who scored 34 goals in 41 games in the U19 DFB youth league over the past two years and was most recently part of Wehen Wiesbaden's professional squad, has been signed on loan from Wehen Wiesbaden.
Wehen Wiesbaden
A bitter loss for SVWW: Fatih Kaya is transferring to Turkish first division club Samsunspor. Kaya joined from Belgian first division side VV St. Truiden in the summer of 2024 and secured the 3. Liga top scorer title in his debut season with 20 goals. The Gießen native was elected captain for the 2025/26 season, scoring a further eleven goals and providing four assists. He made headlines in the DFB Cup when he scored both goals for SVWW in their narrow 2-3 defeat against FC Bayern Munich.
In contrast, Philipp Hercher joins SVWW as a new signing. The 30-year-old winger arrives on a free transfer from second-division side 1. FC Magdeburg. Striker Sinan Karweina was also signed on a free transfer from Swiss Super League club FC Luzern.
Beyond the Lilies – News from Frankfurt, Mainz, Offenbach and Wehen
Stephan Köhnlein is the editor-in-chief of the independent online magazine Lilienblog, which focuses on SV Darmstadt 98. In this section, he takes a look beyond the Lilies each month at other football clubs in the Rhine-Main area.
