While the coach speaks of improvement, manager Eberl is silent
The crisis at Borussia Mönchengladbach is coming to a head. Adi Hütter sees hope for an upward trend in the performance against Frankfurt. However, the pressure on the coach continues to increase – and also on sports director Max Eberl.
Adi Hütter tried hard to gain the authority to interpret the events. The defeat “hurts”, it was “very bitter” because it was “undeserved”, said the coach of Borussia Mönchengladbach after the 2: 3 (1: 1) against Eintracht Frankfurt – the fourth defeat in a row.
Hütter’s team conceded 17 goals. But against his ex-club, the 51-year-old Austrian is quite sure, the players showed a “completely different performance.” He saw that the team “tried everything and did everything. And if we keep playing like this, we’ll get out of there too. “
Hütter would probably have spoken something like that if he hadn’t seen it that way. What use would it have been if the coach verbally beat up a team that was insecure during the crisis? The precarious situation in which the Gladbach company is to blame itself – the crisis management failed on Wednesday evening not because of a lack of will, but because of the self-doubts that arose from the crisis.
Coach Adi Hütter saw an improvement in the game of his Gladbachers
Quelle: Getty Images
“It was certainly not the case that we played Frankfurt against the wall. But it was a step in the right direction, even on the last few days of training, ”said Christoph Kramer after a much more committed performance compared to the previous weeks, which was, however, similarly flawed. The team is working on getting itself back on track, “but we have completely lost the matter of course,” said the midfielder to “Sky”. It is normal that “every foot is not endowed with self-confidence.”
Gladbach unsettled after the break
That is more likely to apply to the minds. The well-structured performance in the first half was thwarted by blatant deficiencies in the defense. After the early lead by Florian Neuhaus (6th), the Gladbachers were the better team, but remained extremely nervous. “You could tell that they were insecure,” said Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp: “They played a lot of balls haphazardly and without distress.”
In addition, there were blatant misjudgments: Denis Zakaria dared too much in the build-up of the game, promptly messed up the ball – the Frankfurters, who had been defeated until then, thanked each other, combined effortlessly through the Gladbach penalty area and Rafael Borré scored to equalize (45th).
Then the line was completely lost in the game of the foals. At 1: 2 by Jesper Lindström (50th) there was no recognizable resistance. Even the penalty converted by Rami Bensebaini to 2-2 (55th) brought no calm into the game – 62 seconds later, Gladbach was countered to make matters worse by a simple one-two from Borré and Daichi Kamada (56th). “That doesn’t work at all,” even Hütter, who tried to understand, had to admit. Only then did a strong phase for the Gladbachers follow – but they failed several times because of the brilliant Trapp.
Manager Eberl does not comment
So the overall situation remains extremely tense. Before going to Hoffenheim on Saturday, the lead on the relegation place shrank to one point. There is a threat of a winter break full of self-doubt and an ongoing coaching discussion. The fans are already running them – only Max Eberl refuses to give her food. After the game, Eberl did not comment.
Others did. “The question is whether Max Eberl thinks that he will get something in Hoffenheim with Adi Hütter,” said Dietmar Hamann on “Sky”. According to the opinionated TV expert, he could imagine “that something will happen before Saturday.” According to information from WELT, however, this is as good as impossible, since the increase in performance is seen as an indication that the team is still following the coach follows. This is also suggested by statements made by the players. “We got it on ourselves, we have to scoop it up ourselves,” said Kramer, but warned: “We have to be prepared for uncomfortable times.”
Hütter himself is convinced that he can solve the situation. After the game in Hoffenheim, it is a matter of “preparing well for the second half of the season,” he said, emphasizing the quality of the team.
However, in order to be able to access them permanently, it would be advantageous to clarify some simmering personnel issues: What happens next with Matthias Ginter and Denis Zakaria, who are willing to change, whose contracts expire at the end of the season? Eberl is working on a solution, there could even be a winter sale of Zakaria. Because Gladbach needs one thing above all to cope with a crisis: calmness in its own ranks.
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