FRANKFURT – In July Alexander Meier (37) wanted to return to Frankfurt Eintracht. When his contract with Eintracht was extended in July 2016 to 2018, the club and players had agreed on a follow-up contract in an undefined position for the period after their active career.
The 37-year-old Meier has been retiring from football for a few months now, and his last engagement with Western Sydney Wanderers in Australia was canceled early in January. “Both sides weren’t satisfied,” he said. After returning to Germany, he sat down with his advisor Jurgen Milewski with the Eintracht board members Fredi Bobic and Axel Hellmann and discussed the future. “We had agreed that I would start on July 1st,” says Meier now, “but now we have seen how everything will develop. There are more important things at this time. ”
Initially working for the next generation
It is clear that Meier (336 games for Eintracht, 119 goals), who fans on the Main affectionately call “football god”, will have a future in Frankfurt. The exact area of activity has not yet been defined, but will initially be located in Riederwald, i.e. in the junior department. “When everything has returned to normal, I will call Fredi someday”, says the one who also wants to acquire trainer tickets. “I wanted to start with that in Hamburg, but at the moment everything is on hold,” he says.
He currently lives with his father in his native Buchholz, a few kilometers south of Hamburg. The top scorer of the Bundesliga from 2015 is keeping fit with long forest runs, actually accompanied by his “Golden Retriever” Alf. But currently, Meier has to run alone through the forest and fields. “I overwhelmed Alf, he has a paw injury,” laughs Meier, “he can’t keep up with my pace and needs a break.”
He maintains contact with Australia with former colleagues Nicolai Muller and Pirmin Schwegler, both former Eintracht professionals, by phone. “The season is also interrupted there and they don’t know how and when to continue,” he says.
