Eintracht Frankfurt on the defensive constantly unstable

ATuta fell in the deepest. What career prospects did the Brazilian have: The 23-year-old could have become the defensive chief of the Eintracht three-man chain on a permanent basis. He had laid the groundwork for this in the previous season with good performances in the Europa League winners against Glasgow Rangers (final) and West Ham United (semi-finals). “Due to his nature, he can become our defense chief, that’s a position that could suit him in the future,” sporting director Markus Krösche said before this round with justified hope.

But currently Tuta no longer has any prospects as a strategic head of central defense because he was unable to meet the high demands in the first matches of this season. Coach Oliver Glasner therefore put him back in the right central defender position.

But even there Tuta is no longer a support. At 1: 2 in Leipzig, the weak professional led Timo Werner’s 0: 1 with a clumsy stick error. The South American has been in the squad 21 times and started 21 times. Except for the game at the start of the league against Bayern Munich (1: 6), he reeled off the entire workload. A game break for the Brazilian would have been appropriate. Only: Glasner does not act. Apparently he sees no better alternative in the Frankfurt squad.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Achilles heel

Defense is Eintracht’s Achilles’ heel in this round. This is shown above all by the fact that the trainer cannot find a fixed formation for the three positions to be allocated in the chain. No matter what the Austrian tries in terms of personnel: his measures do not last, because nobody was really convincing in the long term. This in turn means that the defense network is not as well-rehearsed as it could be.

After Tuta, three professionals were given a chance to prove themselves in the central position: Hrvoje Smolcic, Kristijan Jakic and Makoto Hasebe. At the start of this year, Smolcic led the back three in the 3-0 home win over Schalke 04. After the 1-1 draw in Freiburg, the Croatian lost his post again. Smolcic, whose speed of action left something to be desired, did not bring stability to the formation.

Hasebe then took over the role of chief organizer in the formidable 1-1 draw in Munich. Despite his age of 39, the young-at-heart Japanese is still the best at coping with the demands of the trio. With his understanding of the game, his overview and serenity as well as his football skills, the others cannot keep up. And: On good days, Hasebe makes the players at his side better. However, it is in the nature of things that he is no longer the fastest. There are players with a better header than him. When the opponents field big, robust and fast professionals, Glasner questions Hasebe’s involvement.

After the 0:3 on February 12 in Cologne, the Japanese had to make way for Jakic. In the following home game against Bremen (2-0), the Croatian offered a reasonable performance. On the other hand, Jakic, who is always good for a mistake, was unable to keep the defense together in the 0-2 draw in the Champions League against Napoli. Hasebe for Jakic – that was the consequence for the game in Leipzig. The cheerful interplay continued. In Leipzig Smolcic played as a left central defender, but he played solidly.

Glasner had shown a lot of patience with Ndicka for a long time. However, since the Frenchman failed to achieve the hoped-for improvement in form, he has now received the receipt. Next Sunday (5.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on DAZN) in Wolfsburg, Smolcic could again be in the lead, Ndicka is no longer set.

None of the five central defenders is untouchable today, let alone indispensable. The last one to have his place was Martin Hinteregger. The Austrian, who retired from professional football, also had his slacks. But when it came down to it, like in the duels with FC Barcelona and Betis Sevilla, he was there at the top level. Hinteregger, who is strong in the air, was also a reliable player in set pieces and crosses up front.

In the meantime, Eintracht is so unlikely to score in this category that Glasner recently smugly stated that Frankfurt could apply for the Nobel Peace Prize. The Hessians failed to adequately replace Hinteregger. In view of the new season, they will have to act and sign a new defensive boss with quality, who is set by his skills.

Eintracht have already found reinforcements in the form of 21-year-old left-footed player William Pacho from Antwerp. The Ecuadorian is to replace Ndicka, who favors a move to a top European club. He is currently not living up to the high expectations of the Frankfurters. He’s not the only one on the defensive – to Eintracht’s competitive disadvantage.