After Eintracht Frankfurt's collapse, could Albert Riera make a surprise return as manager of the record champions?

Razgrad have failed to win the league title for the first time in 14 years, and as a result, Per-Mathias Högmo is widely expected to resign. Although Ludogorets reached the championship round, they have already suffered two defeats there and have only one win after five matches. Levski Sofia were confirmed as the new champions as early as the beginning of May.

As a result, the club—backed by a Bulgarian businessman—missed the chance to set a new benchmark: no side had previously won 15 consecutive league titles. Only Skonto Riga (1991–2004) and Lincoln Red Imps (2003–2016) have also reached 14 consecutive national titles. In Germany, FC Bayern's run of eleven straight Bundesliga crowns (2013–2023) stands as the benchmark.

Immediately after that disappointment, the club was eliminated from the Bulgarian Cup semi-finals by CSKA Sofia. As things stand, Ludogorets may now have to navigate the arduous qualifying rounds of the Conference League—a prospect that would have seemed unthinkable during their long reign at the top.

Now Riera is charged with whipping the struggling record champions into shape. The same Riera who recently failed spectacularly in a similar role at Eintracht Frankfurt, costing the club any chance of European qualification. His brief 14-game tenure in the Hessian metropolis was marked by internal discord that spilled into the public domain and by the 44-year-old's often bizarre press conferences.

"I put him in a situation where he had little chance of success," Eintracht's sporting director, Krösche, admitted at a recent end-of-season press conference. The Spaniard's appointment was "my wrong decision. My misjudgement," he said, taking responsibility for missing out on Europe.

In hiring Riera, the veteran executive had gone against his own principles. "The most important rule I ignored is that if you replace a manager mid-season, don't bring in someone who doesn't know the league or have top-flight experience." Why did he do it? "I had a feeling and a conviction. I always act on conviction. It was so strong that I disregarded the principle of caution."

Riera is expected to take up a new post soon, while Frankfurt are in the final stages of their own search. The favourites are Matthias Jaissle, currently under contract with Al Ahly in Saudi Arabia until 2027, and Adi Hütter. The Austrian, who previously led Eintracht from 2018 to 2021, has been without a club since resigning from AS Monaco in October.