Soccer-Frankfurt coach Schaaf resigns over lack of support

BERLIN, May 26 (Reuters) - Eintracht Frankfurt coach Thomas Schaaf surprisingly resigned on Tuesday after one season in charge following weeks of criticism from some club bosses and an alleged rift with his players. "Thomas Schaaf more than exceeded the target set by the club in this season with a ninth place finish and 43 points," said Frankfurt board chairman Heribert Bruchhagen, who publicly backed the coach in recent weeks, in a statement. "The collaboration was always good. We very much regret that Thomas Schaaf will not continue with us down this path. We tried, in vain, to change his mind." Schaaf, a former long-time coach at Werder Bremen, had take over last year and his contract ran to 2016. But a bad run since the winter break and just two victories in their last seven Bundesliga games saw the pressure on him increase along with what he allegedly felt was a lack of backing from other board members. There were also reports of poor communication with his players, something they denied after the season finale last week. He became the second Bundesliga coach to resign on Tuesday after Roberto Di Matteo, with a contract to 2017, left Schalke 04 over differences in next season's planning. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Ken Ferris)