UClosed to the public – that is Eintracht Frankfurt’s motto for this training week. After the club had invited the media to the practice session last Wednesday, the cancellation came as a surprise on Tuesday evening. Secret training was announced. Coach Oliver Glasner wants to calmly prepare the team for the home game this Sunday (3.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on DAZN) against Cologne, it said.
Above all, the Austrian probably didn’t want to give outsiders any insight into the strategic learning content on the pitch. Glasner and his coaching team have to make a decision with regard to the formation of the defensive: continue with a three-man chain, only with a new line-up?
Or will Eintracht, who will sign 21-year-old midfielder Junior Dina Ebimbe from Paris St. Germain, switch to a back four following the departure of winger Filip Kostić to Juventus? Either way: there is a need for action, also due to Almamy Touré’s thigh injury, who is expected to be out for several weeks.
If Frankfurt stayed with the back three, defender Tuta could move one position to the right and replace Touré there. In a central role, the 23-year-old Brazilian Tuta had his difficulties in the past games, he lacked security, speed of action and consistency.
The right man to regain stability would be Makoto Hasebe. Thanks to her experience and game intelligence, the 38-year-old manager is always there when she is urgently needed. “If things continue like this, I hope Makoto will play until 45. . .”, said Glasner after Hasebe replaced Touré in the 73rd minute to make it 1-1 at Hertha.
However, the Japanese is not a permanent solution because of his age, three games a week could push even him physically to his limits in the long run. In September, with the start of the Champions League, the English weeks begin for the Hessians.
“No vacation year” for Pellegrini
If Glasner sees an urgent need for action after the confusion shown in Berlin at the beginning of the game by his back team, it would be a good idea for him to install a back four in the duel with Cologne. New signing Luca Pellegrini, who has been practicing with his new team-mates since this week, could then come into play as a left-back.
He also had inquiries from other clubs, said the 23-year-old on Thursday at his presentation, “but within a few days I decided on Eintracht”. Sports director Markus Krösche had sent him a video from the Frankfurters in which the fans had “most impressed” Pellegrini. For him, who was part of the bargaining chip in the Kostić deal, Eintracht should not pay a loan fee to Juventus Turin.
In addition, it is said that the Italians would continue to pay part of his salary. He and Kostić never crossed paths again in Turin. When the Serbian international arrived in Italy, he trained individually to prepare for his move to Main, Pellegrini said. He is currently working under Glasner’s guidance to ensure that his appearance against Cologne is “possible”. Pellegrini wants to emulate Kostić. “This is not a vacation year for me.”
If necessary in the gate
In his youth, the 1.81 meter tall Pellegrini had proven himself as a striker. However, his first youth coach at AS Roma, Roberto Muzzi, retrained him as a defensive player – on the grounds that Pellegrini could one day become Italy’s best full-back. The professional, who has gone through all youth national teams since the U16 and has so far played one senior international, is correspondingly versatile.
“I am also willing to be a goalkeeper if one is wanted. You always have to be ready,” he said. Pellegrini, who Turin bought from Rome at the age of 20 for 22 million euros, can defend and attack in his position. He has missed just one goal in 69 Serie A encounters; when it comes to assists, there are nine on his record.
Despite his young age, the Roman-born, who has previously been loaned out to Cagliari and Genoa, has suffered a couple of serious injuries. In 2017 – at AS Roma he was just about to make the leap from youth to professional squad – he tore his cruciate ligament before breaking his kneecap shortly after his comeback. “Today I’m perfectly fit,” he says.
In the ranks of Eintracht Pellegrini, who only played four games over the full distance in the previous season, is only the third professional from Italy after Marco Rossi and Giessen-born Giovanni Speranza. He does not want to meet his compatriots from Turin with Eintracht in the group stage of the Champions League. “Turin are already a very strong opponent,” he says. “That would not be so good for my current club, Eintracht.”
