EIt wasn’t a cozy warm-up for a long season, the first soccer training session for Frankfurt Eintracht after the summer break. The new coach Oliver Glasner didn’t want to waste a minute, but preferred to get to know his players properly. And they should get to know him properly too.
The 46-year-old Austrian kept interrupting the exercises to make it clear how he would like situations to be resolved. “It is important to convey your philosophy from the start,” said Glasner, visibly in a good mood, after the two hours on Thursday morning. “The guys did a great job.”
The former Wolfsburg coach welcomed 23 field players, including nine U-19 juniors and three goalkeepers, including two U-19 players. The Frankfurt European Championship participants are either still busy in the tournament or relax during the holidays. In addition, Tuta was absent after his home leave in Brazil due to corona quarantine and the third goalkeeper Elias Bördner because he was released, Viktoria Köln would like to borrow the 19-year-old.
Overview and skill
The commitment and the level that the Eintracht professionals put on the first day was quite remarkable, the desire to chase the ball again was palpable. The talent and self-confidence of the Spaniard Fabio Blanco immediately caught the eye. The 17-year-old is considered one of the greatest European talents – and he immediately showed why that is the case. In the training session, which was about ball circulation or conquering the ball, the attacking midfielder stood out for his handling of the ball, his overview and his skill. In the final training game, he amazed by repeatedly demanding the ball from his older colleagues with many gestures and then doing remarkable things to him when he had it. Danny da Costa in particular, with whom Blanco formed a pair on the right, benefited from his surprising pass. Da Costa even thanked for a template with a handshake.
Christopher Lenz, newcomer to Union Berlin, said of Blanco: “I think it’s good when someone comes out on the field at 17 and acts cheekily. I prefer cheeky rather than cautious players who don’t really dare. ”The 26-year-old Berliner also belongs to this type of football player:“ I always want to be active ”is his credo, alibi actions are not his thing, turning off with the ball at the foot and back passes are unpopular necessities in his repertoire if the risk of vertical play appears disproportionate.
Trained at Hertha BSC and Borussia Mönchengladbach, Lenz only made the leap to a professional team at Union Berlin, and at the Alte Försterei he only prevailed after he was loaned to Holstein Kiel in between. His goals in Frankfurt? “As much playing time as possible.”
“Filip is not a problem”
That could become a problem if Glasner lets the five-man chain introduced by his compatriot Adi Hütter continue to exist as a basic formation at Eintracht. Because then the Berlin Filip would have to oust Kostic. In a back four Kostic would play in front of him and Lenz would be the left man in the defensive line. “Filip is not a problem for me, because Filip definitely helps the team. We also have an unbelievable number of games this year – and we may vary between a four-man and five-man chain depending on the opponent. ”Since Glasner wants to remedy Eintracht’s defensive weakness, which has a lot to do with Kostic’s defensive behavior, it is easy to imagine the Austrian to the back four and a hedge for Kostic swings.
But maybe the coveted Serb will leave Eintracht too. In the case of André Silva, Eintracht’s second potential best seller, the signs of saying goodbye are growing – namely to RB Leipzig. The people of Leipzig learned of the transfer arrangement that Eintracht made when signing the contract with Silva. The Portuguese can go for a transfer fee of just under 25 million euros. At the time of this agreement in the aegis of Fredi Bobic, it was not foreseeable that Silva would become the second best Bundesliga scorer of the 2020/21 season with 28 goals and would achieve a significantly higher market value.
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Instead, the fee that Eintracht had to transfer to AC Milan for Silva was minimized. An agreement has not yet been reached, the 25-year-old Portuguese attacker could also imagine playing for an even more glamorous name than RB Leipzig. But such concerns are sure to be allayed by a generous salary and a generous commission to the consultant. After Silva’s relatively low transfer fee became public, a more prominent club could quickly thwart Leipzig’s plans with Silva.
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