Eintracht Frankfurt has a new player-coach in the amateur league. Sonny Kittel, a former talent of Eintracht Frankfurt and later a regular player at Hamburger SV, will now lace up his football boots for SV Bauerbach in the Gruppenliga Gießen/Marburg. The 33-year-old takes on the role of playing co-coach at the Hessian amateur club and fulfills a heart's desire. Kittel's connection to football begins early and in the vicinity. In 1999, he moved to Eintracht Frankfurt's youth department at the age of six from Gießen. There, he developed into a youth international and won the German championship with the B-Juniors in 2010. In the same year, he made his professional debut in the Bundesliga under coach Michael Skibbe – as the then-youngest field player in the history of the traditional club, in the home game against Hamburger SV. It was the beginning of a long professional career that would take him through the first and second Bundesliga, abroad, and eventually to Switzerland. After years at Eintracht Frankfurt, Kittel moved to FC Ingolstadt and in 2019 to Hamburger SV, where he established himself as a reliable fixture in German professional football. In total, he has over 267 appearances in the first and second Bundesliga, as well as Europa League experience. Most recently, Kittel was under contract with FC Zürich, whose club colors he wore until the summer of 2025. Since then, he has been without a club, and the football world wondered if the native Gießener would ever again be active on the pitch. The answer came unexpectedly – but with a deep personal background. "It's the heart's desire of our grandfather that we once play together in a team. I'm looking forward to it huge", said Kittel to the Gießener Allgemeine. His seven-year-younger brother Sammy has already been playing for SV Bauerbach since July 1, 2025. This family reason was what finally led Sonny to the Gruppenliga. For SV Bauerbach, who finished the 2025/26 season on the sixth table of the Gruppenliga Gießen/Marburg, it is probably the most spectacular transfer in the club's history.