Dhe future is not important to him, nor is the past. What counts for Oliver Glasner is the here and now. Carpe Diem. It’s his motto in life. The football coach emphasizes this again and again. With Eintracht Frankfurt, he made the most of the day. Glasner, 47, is now one of the greats of his guild, having won his first international title: winner of the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt.
For the Hessians it is the biggest coup since the UEFA Cup success in 1980. That was half an eternity ago. Glasner was a little boy then. He has long since become a well-established personality, has matured in sport and has also tried his hand at life off the pitch. The father has three children. Glasner is Austrian, born in Schärding.
In the glittering world of professional football, he is not one of the industry’s loudspeakers. Subtle, friendly, competent: Even during his active time as a professional at SV Ried, he was the strategic head, the maker, the source of ideas and inspiration. A down-to-earth man – and a life-changing experience.
End of career after cerebral hemorrhage
On July 31, 2011, he suffered a concussion in a game in a header duel. Further medical examinations revealed a subdural hematoma, a cerebral hemorrhage that can be fatal and required immediate surgery. The timely intervention saved Glasner from worse. “Fate was once again kind to me,” he said at the time. Since then he has learned “not to get upset about every piece of nonsense”. When the doctors declared him cured, Glasner ended his career anyway.
The player, who once met his future wife at his home club, who worked there as a secretary, became the coach. First in Ried, then at the ASK in Linz. The leap across the state border led him to Wolfsburg. With VfL he managed what was also successful now with Eintracht: With a steady hand and a clear idea of attractive attacking football, he has now also led Frankfurt into the Champions League.
Be ready for something new. What applies to his players also applies to Glasner. In Frankfurt, he lives in Sachsenhausen, right in the middle of the Main River, and has his finger on the pulse of the times. He is open, interested, inquisitive. In the evening you can meet him over a glass of wine in an apple wine tavern.
Sport in the city fascinates him. He watches the Skyliners basketball games as well as the ice hockey lions. Whenever it suits, his wife, who continues to live in Austria, is at his side. After the coup with Eintracht, he now has more time for his family again. Glasner goes on vacation at the weekend.
