Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League against SSC Naples with big goals

Dhe anticipation is huge. “We have an extraordinary highlight game just around the corner.” Oliver Glasner is in the best of spirits when he says this the day before the big game against Naples. Champions League, round of 16, first leg: the press room in the Frankfurt Arena is packed. Half a dozen camera teams and a total of around 50 journalists were there two hours earlier, when Eintracht completed their final training session.

Eintracht coach Glasner specified at lunchtime what they saw in the morning: Whether Sebastian Rode, who is still ill against Bremen, will play against the upcoming Italian soccer champions will only be decided at short notice. “He’s doing better, he’s moving into the squad. But he will definitely not be there from the start.” But maybe a little later, when it might be necessary to make corrections to the statics of the Frankfurt game. The captain is exactly the right man for that.

It was thanks to him that in the crucial premier class group game away at Sporting Lisbon the turnaround and the associated entry into the knockout phase was successful. Rode as a “game changer”, just as he did in the other big game of his career, the Europa League final against Glasgow, and sacrificed himself for the team.

Glasner: “We’re playing to win”

There is great respect for Naples, for Maradona’s heirs. But Glasner is still on course. “We play to win. Napoli are a very good, stable side, but so are we. My boys are in very good shape.” One of Glasner’s “boys” is sitting on the podium in the arena’s catacombs with the Austrian football coach. Mario Götze, the most experienced of all Frankfurt’s premier class players, is calm, mellow and confident in answering questions. “We put a lot of work into this campaign,” he says. “Now we want to reward ourselves and enjoy it.” The 30-year-old thinker and leader of the offensive Eintracht game is hoping for a “sensational game”.

Glasner and his team of assistants spent many hours scrutinizing SSC Napoli and preparing to the best of their knowledge and belief for the two knockout games against the men from Vesuvius. “There is an excellent balance in this team. They have by far the fewest goals in Serie A.”

Not only are Napoli the best team in Italy, Napoli are also currently the best and most in-form team in Europe. A big chunk. Nevertheless, Glasner is in good spirits. “I’m going into this game with great anticipation, confidence and confidence.” Against a side he describes as “anti-Italian”. “They are very aggressive on the ball, press hard and counter-press like crazy.” In other words, Eintracht have not yet met an opponent of this quality this season. Götze is not going crazy with the undisputed quality of the sovereign Italian table leader. “It’s the momentum that counts,” he says. “Performance, flow, energy – everything is important.”

It all depends on the attitude. And of course also on the line-up and on players who get their best performance this Tuesday evening (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Champions League and on Prime Video). Whether Kristijan Jakic can play the middle man in the three-man defense against Bremen, as in the Bundesliga core business, or whether the much more experienced Makoto Hasebe should intelligently open the Eintracht game from behind – Glasner left it open on Monday, as expected. “I can choose between players who are all in good shape,” he says diplomatically.

Atypical for the otherwise level-headed coach was his statement, which briefly caused more laughter. “The team is hot as frying pan fat.” Glasner had never said anything like that during his career, and it may underline the importance of this outstanding game. Round of 16 in the Champions League – this also means that Eintracht is one of the 16 best teams in Europe. The Champions League label – it can be seen everywhere in the arena. In the underground car park, hard-working helpers even pasted over traditional Eintracht sponsors with black and attached the premier class lettering instead.

Eintracht has big plans for the games against Napoli. The Italians have only been defeated twice this season in regular time – by Inter Milan and Liverpool. “We want to be third,” says Glasner. “We don’t see dangers behind every door,” said the Frankfurt coach, to finish: “but opportunities.” The chance to achieve something extraordinary in the club’s history. Götze says: “Champions League, it’s a sensationally good competition.” And Eintracht is still in the thick of it.