Trainer Oliver Glasner took the critical question with humor. He was asked why he thinks his team is well prepared for the away game this Saturday (3.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky) at VfB Stuttgart, since they were only able to practice twice this week?
“If we needed a full week of training to be well prepared, we would never be well prepared again before the World Cup break in November,” replied the Eintracht Frankfurt coach, explaining his assessment: “The win against Marseille was very good for us. We are mentally and physically fit. You have a sense of what’s going on in the dressing room after the game, what’s in the hotel, what’s in regeneration training the next day, what’s the mood like, what’s the spirit in the team – and I have a very good one there Feeling.”
The preparation is the best that is possible. The focus is on the video work. “I also don’t think that Stuttgart will surprise us tactically.” Glasner made a much more relaxed impression on Friday than in the days after the 1-0 defeat against VfL Wolfsburg. While the coach was tough on his players back then, this time he was lenient: “We have to push our limits tactically, physically, mentally and playfully in all games in order to win. Maybe it’s just not possible to do it every three or four days.”
“I’m very happy for him”
The only Eintracht professional who didn’t struggle with mood swings in the ups and downs of the past few weeks was given an additional motivation pill on Thursday: Randal Kolo Muani was called up to the French national team for the first time. “I’m very happy for him, but I would have given him the break during the international matches. With his many deep runs, he has a very complex game,” commented Glasner.
Kolo Muani’s brilliant debut in Frankfurt resulted in a prominent victim. Lucas Alario, a center forward signed by Bayer Leverkusen for six million euros, withers away on the bench. Glasner shows sympathy: “I’m very sorry for him, and it also gnaws at his self-confidence. But Kolo Muani is the most valuable for the team in his position, and I have to think about the team’s success.” The coach nevertheless praises the 29-year-old Argentinian: “He’s a super guy and is exemplary in his situation. “
Body control is everything: Daichi Kamada (left) shows full commitment in Marseille.
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Image: AFP
Glasner also described the attitude of his professionals in the Champions League game against Marseille as exemplary, which led to the 1-0 win. “You could see the performance we are capable of when everyone is at the service of the team,” said Glasner. Then the Austrian proclaimed an interesting thesis that probably some colleagues would not subscribe to. “The right attitude is more important than a player playing at his regular position.”
The Eintracht coach took Kamada, Knauff and Jakić as examples who had shown “excellent” performances in unfamiliar roles. “When the players give their all, they can sometimes make a mistake in their position or behave tactically incorrectly.” That was related to Knauff and Jakić, who made their debuts as left and right wingers and played satisfactorily overall, but certainly not without mistakes.
Kamada had been beyond doubt. As in the cup game against Magdeburg, Glasner pulled the Japanese into defensive midfield alongside Sow, and Kamada came up trumps against Magdeburg. Although Marseille is of course of a completely different caliber. The Japanese national player was not only his man in the defensive formation, he was also involved in almost all counterattacks as an initiator or as a shooter.
Glasner found unusual words for Kamada: “Daichi is very important to us, that’s why he always plays.” In the past, it was always doubted whether Kamada could hold his own in the infight, in the tough duels: “But now Daichi also wins a lot of balls because of his intelligence and skill. He just understood the game, that’s why Daichi can play in many positions.”
You can also compliment Sebastian Rode on understanding the game. The captain brought added stability as a substitute in Marseille, although he is not at his full potential. That’s why Glasner will put him on the substitutes’ bench again in Stuttgart: “Sebastian could play, but it wouldn’t make sense to rush him across the pitch for 90 minutes. The risk of injury would be too great.”
The 31-year-old midfielder’s body has become quite fragile after numerous injuries. Glasner sees a limit exceeded in the schedules. “The many muscle injuries in the Bundesliga teams are not due to incorrect load control, the loads on the players are simply too high.”
