Eintracht Frankfurt is the club that has seen the greatest development in recent months. In the game against FC Bayern, who are currently on a lurch course, the Hessians can underline their great ambitions.
There is hope again among football fans in this country. At least for those who want FC Bayern not to become German champions again – for the eleventh time in a row. After all, there is thick air in Munich. Bayern are once again in the process of taking their conflicts to the public. And seldom have so many problems cropped up in such a short space of time.
The failure of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (shinbone fracture after a ski tour), the discussion about his successor (Yann Sommer or Alexander Nübel). The dismissal of goalkeeping coach and new friend Toni Tapalovic. Serge Gnabry’s flash visit to Paris last week, during which the attacker informed himself intensively about the latest fashion trends: All of this alone provides a lot of material for discussion in notoriously excited (soccer) Munich.
Kimmich and Salihamidzic are “not amused”
If these stories are paired with a lack of victories in the Bundesliga, as recently against RB Leipzig (1: 1) and 1.FC Köln (1: 1), the catastrophe is at least close – measured by the enormous demands that Bayern make on themselves ask yourself. The big picture at FCB is (once again) in question. be it “It’s high time that we switch gears and realize that it’s about the championship now”Bayern Munich’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic recently warned.
Joshua Kimmich, who hasn’t been in the best form lately either, but saved his team at least a point at the last minute by equalizing against the Rhinelanders, also feels compelled to publicly criticize his team-mates. “We have to be more gripping and greedy again. Last year it was a completely different self-image.”said the Bayern captain.
But despite all the doomsday scenarios they caused themselves, despite the many problems and sporting setbacks of the past few weeks: Coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team still leads the table by three points – even if it has seven points fewer than at the same time last year Year. Now it’s up against fourth-placed Frankfurt, against whom FCB easily won 6-1 at the start of the season.
Unstoppable unity?
Since the unsuccessful start to the season, Eintracht has taken a very positive path. Coach Oliver Glasner’s team is playing the best first half of the season in 29 years and has almost as many wins (9) on their credit account as they did in the entirety of last season (10). And in the Champions League Eintracht made it to the round of 16 against SSC Napoli for the first time in the club’s history.
Nevertheless, the Hessians have not yet reached the level of performance they had before the World Cup in Qatar, despite the recent win against Schalke 04 (3-0) and a 1-1 draw at SC Freiburg. one has”didn’t play well“, judged Eintracht sports director Markus Krösche after the draw in Breisgau and thus criticized the activities in almost all parts of the team. The results are good, the performance is not yet.
Bayern hunter or not?
The demands in Frankfurt have increased significantly. “Eintracht Frankfurt is not a training club”, Krösche recently announced. The intention of his statement: The club must manage to keep its regular players – and Eintracht should establish itself permanently in the Bundesliga top. We are working intensively on this in these weeks and months.
This season they have developed into one of the Bayern hunters and are currently five points behind the record champions. No team needs fewer shots on goal for a goal this season (6). They are already ahead of FCB in this category.
Maybe the German football fans (except the Bayern supporters) have even more reason to hope for another champion on Saturday night.
