As announced by various sources (L’Équipe, Foot Mercato …), Adi Hütter is about to be appointed coach of AS Monaco. The 53-year-old Austrian has been free since leaving German club Mönchengladbach a year ago. He will take over from Philippe Clement, dismissed after a disastrous end to the season which deprived ASM, 6th in Ligue 1, of qualification for the European Cup. Hütter has his work cut out for him.
That’s what jumps out at you when you discover him: Adolf Hütter, this is reminiscent of one of the most infamous characters that Humanity has known. Why did the Austrian coach’s parents name him after he was born 25 years after the end of World War II? “When I came into the world, my parents obviously didn’t want to name me like that,” he revealed to German radio station Hit Radio FFH in August 2018.
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The choice arose due to the death of his father’s brother, himself named Adolf, in an avalanche. He was 27 years old. “My grandmother absolutely wanted there to be another Adolf in the family and my parents were convinced,” Hütter explained. “We might wish to have another name,” he admitted, pointing out that his mother called him Adi “from day one.” A nickname that suits him well.
Austrian clubs in the final of a European Cup, that’s not common. It happened 4 times by confusing C1, defunct C2, C3 and C4, and only once in the Europa League (C3). And Adi Hütter was there. A former midfielder, he was part of the epic Casino Salzburg (now Red Bull Salzburg), which then emerged as Austria’s dominant club in the 1993-94 Europa League.
Salzburg surrendered after a two-way confrontation against Dennis Bergkamp’s Inter Milan. The Italians won in Austria (0-1) then at home (1-0). Hütter, absent in the first leg, played the entire second match. He has 14 caps and 3 goals for Austria, the country where he spent his entire career, which ended in 2007.
Appointed to Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer of 2018, Adi Hütter is starting to make himself known. The Europa League campaign that followed, where his side only fell in the semi-final on penalties to Chelsea, cemented his place among Europe’s most promising managers. Olympique de Marseille saw that. In the group stage, OM were beaten at home in a closed-door Velodrome (1-2) before taking a lesson in Germany (4-0). Watch out for a reunion in Ligue 1.
Voted best Bundesliga coach in 2019 and 2021, Hütter left Frankfurt with his head held high in the wake of his second award. Borussia Mönchengladbach spent nearly €7m to snatch him from Eintracht… and for a pitiful result. The Black and Whites finished 10th in the Bundesliga, their worst ranking since 2011. Hütter miraculously survived a series of four defeats at the end of the autumn, including three pants against Cologne (4-1), Freiburg (0-6) and Leipzig (4-1).
Hütter and Gladbach parted ways “by mutual agreement” at the end of the season. The Austrian therefore comes out of a year without a club. Rumors had announced him close to Crystal Palace or Leicester in England, without materializing.
Renowned for being modern, with an attacking and vertical style, Adi Hütter often used a three-man defense in Frankfurt and Mönchengladbach. That’s good, a few Monegasques have the profile to evolve as pistons: Caio Henrique, Vanderson, Ismaïl Jakobs, even Krépin Diatta.
Hütter was not chosen at random. He had trained with the young people of RB Salzburg (2007-2009) before returning as N.1 for the 2014-15 season. A member of the Red Bull galaxy, which owns clubs all over the world, he will collaborate in Monaco with Thiago Scuro, former sports director of Red Bull in Brazil, who has recently arrived in the Principality. Winning ticket for ASM?