Oliver Glasner has been named the new manager of Crystal Palace, taking over from Roy Hodgson, who resigned earlier on Monday.
Glasner, an Austrian, previously managed Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga before leaving the club last summer.
Hodgson explained that he decided to step down in order to allow the club to expedite their search for a new manager.
In a club statement, Palace chairman Steve Parish said: “I’m delighted to welcome Oliver to the club. He has an outstanding record, and we believe he is the right manager to take the club forward at this pivotal stage.
“Wherever Oliver has gone so far in his managerial journey, success has been quick to follow, and we believe his ambition, as well as his exciting and attacking approach, is the perfect fit for getting the most from our talented young squad in the remainder of this Premier League season and beyond.”
Glasner stated he was “very happy” to join the team and take on his first job of the season.
“I am looking forward to working with the talented squad, meeting the club’s supporters, and experiencing the Selhurst Park atmosphere I have heard so much about,” he told the club website.
“It has been a pleasure to meet with Steve [Parish] and Dougie [Freedman], and I am looking forward to working with them to achieve our goals.”
Glasner is now in charge of Palace, who are currently in 16th place in the Premier League after losing 10 out of their last 16 games.
This has left them five points above the relegation zone. The 49-year-old has signed a two-year contract that will keep him at Selhurst Park until 2026.
His first game as manager will be against Burnley on Saturday, as he will not be involved in Monday’s important match against Everton at Goodison Park. Ray Lewington and Paddy McCarthy will oversee that game instead.
Rumors about Glasner potentially joining Crystal Palace have increased after he was seen at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium watching Spurs lose to Wolves on Saturday.
This was ahead of Palace’s upcoming match against Ange Postecoglou’s team in two weeks.
Glasner previously won the UEFA Europa League with Frankfurt in 2022 before leaving the club at the end of the 2022–23 season.
He spent 19 years at Frankfurt before becoming a manager at SV Ried in 2014. After that, he moved to LASK for four years until 2019, and then to VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
After spending two years at Wolfsburg and helping the club qualify for the UEFA Champions League, he moved on to Frankfurt.
In his first season as Frankfurt’s manager, Glasner achieved European success by defeating Rangers in the final.
He also led the team to the DFB-Pokal final in June 2023, which ended up being his last game in charge before losing 2-0 to RB Leipzig.
