Eintracht Frankfurt have made a fundamental decision for their sporting leadership. The club will appoint Joti Chatzialexiou, the current sporting director of 1. FC Nürnberg, as their new sporting director. The 48-year-old Frankfurt native succeeds Markus Krösche and is set to steer the Bundesliga side's sporting affairs, with the team currently 14th in the table on 8 points from 7 games, nine points behind leaders Bayern München.

President Mathias Beck and his allies view Chatzialexiou as the ideal candidate. He fits the club's new profile not only through his origins but also through his modern approach. At Nürnberg, he introduced a new scouting model heavily based on data analysis. The service provider used for this was founded by mathematician and poker player Tony Bloom, who also invests in Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.

Chatzialexiou emphasised that while he has a strong affinity for data, he does not want to be reduced to that. He noted that data cannot represent character, which is a relevant factor. It is ultimately about people, he stated, and they would never sign a player based solely on data, as the dressing room atmosphere is very important.

At Nürnberg, Chatzialexiou generated high six-figure sums for talents like Finn Jeltsch and Stefanos Tzimas. He began his career as a midfielder for clubs in and around Frankfurt, studied sports science, and worked for the German FA (DFB) from 2003. There he served as manager of the U21 national team and, from 2018 to 2023, as Sporting Director National Teams, where he developed the strategic direction of the DFB Academy alongside Oliver Bierhoff.

The team has scored 10 goals this season but conceded 17, resulting in a goal difference of minus seven. Their recent form reads three wins and two defeats from the last five matches, including a 3-1 away win at Hamburger SV on Tuesday, 27 October, with goals from Robin Koch, Jonathan Burkardt and Younes Ebnoutalib, who is the team's top scorer this season with 5 goals. This followed a 1-0 defeat away to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, 24 October. The next fixture is at home against 11th-placed Hamburger SV on Sunday, 1 November.

This story first appeared at Bild Sport

The club confirmed on 1 November 2026 that Joti Chatzialexiou has signed a contract until 30 June 2030. The new sporting director will take up his post on 1 February 2027. Chatzialexiou said in a Nuremberg statement: "The request from Frankfurt is very special for me, as it is my home club." Meanwhile, Eintracht won their last match 3-1 away at Hamburger SV.

1. FC Nürnberg confirmed on November 1 that Chatzialexiou's contract contained an exit clause for a move to Frankfurt. Manager Miroslav Klose called the departing sporting director a "close confidant". Eintracht recently won 3-1 in Hamburg and sit 15th with 8 points.

Eintracht Frankfurt's supervisory board met with Joti Chatzialexiou on Friday evening and unanimously voted for him as the successor to Markus Krösche. The club confirmed this. CEO Axel Hellmann said: "He has an excellent network and great experience." The move is deliberately scheduled after the winter transfer window. Eintracht recently won 3-1 in Hamburg and is in 15th place with 8 points.