Borussia Mönchengladbach confirmed, on Thursday, that a deal had been struck to extend the contract of Max Eberl, the club's sporting director, for a further three years. Originally set to run out in 2017, his new contract will run through to 2020.
A good move for morale
His decision to extend will be warmly welcomed by the Foals faithful, following the departure of their head coach, Lucien Favre. The Swiss boss reisgned during the week and this decision was initially not accepted by the board and Eberl, but he departed nevertheless. That was a sour end to an otherwise stellar four season stint in charge of the club, where he restored them to the UEFA Champions League once again.
André Schubert was placed in charge of the first-team, after being promoted from the under-23 side, and Eberl seems keen to put his faith in him to continue on Favre's good work. That seems set to pay dividends at Borussia-Park, as the 44-year-old picked up Gladbach's first Bundesliga triumph this season. An incredible first-half showing set them up to comfortably beat FC Augsburg 4-2.
Eberl has a long history with the club
Eberl, who celebrated his 42nd birthday on Monday, has been with Gladbach for over 15 years. He finished his playing career at the club where he spent the final six years of his playing career. The then right-back amassed over 250 professional appearances, across four clubs, without finding the back of the net once. Eberl, after retiring , moved straight into a job as head of youth and amateur football before taking up his current post in 2008.
Speaking to the club website, president Rolf Königs was delighted with the news: "Max Eberl has been responsible for the sporting development of Borussia Mönchengladbach in the last few years. We are very pleased with his work and look forward to the long-term cooperation in the future."