Eintracht Frankfurt has settled on Joti Chatzialexiou as its new sporting director, filling the vacancy left by Markus Krösche. According to BILD, the 50-year-old Frankfurt native will return to the club where he once coached youth teams, taking over Krösche's responsibilities at board level.
The decision was finalized at a late Friday evening meeting of the supervisory board held at the Airport Club at Frankfurt Airport. Chatzialexiou traveled to Frankfurt and presented himself to the full board in person. BILD reports that the vote in his favor was unanimous.
Why it matters
The appointment ends a search that Frankfurt had apparently been preparing for since the summer. BILD reports that Chatzialexiou had been the club's preferred candidate since August, in the event that Krösche departed before his contract ran to 2028. With the succession now settled, Frankfurt moves to stabilize its sporting leadership during a season in which the club's squad planning and talent pipeline remain central to its ambitions.
The hire also pulls a highly regarded executive away from a direct competitor's promotion push. Chatzialexiou has been in charge of sport at second-division side 1. FC Nürnberg since 2024, and the Franconians currently sit second in the 2. Bundesliga under coach Miroslav Klose.
A candidate backed from the top down
The unanimous board vote followed earlier groundwork. BILD reports that Frankfurt's main committee, led by president and supervisory board chief Mathias Beck alongside Felix Wirmer and Sven Janssen, had already reached a fundamental decision in favor of Chatzialexiou. Board chairman Axel Hellmann was reportedly convinced of the appointment from the outset.
The club's leadership was persuaded by more than one factor. BILD describes Chatzialexiou as having a strong eye for talent, a squad-planning approach grounded in detailed data analysis, and deep familiarity with Eintracht from his years coaching the club's youth sides. His international network was cited as another significant point in the discussions, as was the personal impression he made on Beck, Janssen, Wirmer and Hellmann.
Chatzialexiou's background includes a spell as a DFB official, among other roles serving for five years as sporting director of the national team. BILD notes his reputation in German football as someone who knows the country's young talent in depth.
The cost and the contract
BILD reports that Chatzialexiou is set to earn roughly one million euros per year as Frankfurt's sporting director. Nürnberg would receive a transfer fee in the mid six-figure range, below one million euros, with a release clause understood to be involved. A three-year contract is under discussion.
One detail remains open: when exactly Chatzialexiou begins work in Frankfurt. BILD reports that January would be the ideal start from Eintracht's perspective, but the timing has not yet been confirmed.
The move leaves Nürnberg searching for a new sporting director while the club chases promotion. Frankfurt, meanwhile, gets its man — a Frankfurt-born executive returning to a club he knows well, at a price the club appears comfortable with.
What to watch: confirmation of Chatzialexiou's official start date, and how quickly Nürnberg moves to replace him as the second-division season enters its decisive months.
