Vhe art of concentrating on the essentials will be crucial to whether Frankfurt Eintracht can look back on the course of this season with satisfaction. Before the home game against VfB Stuttgart this Saturday (3.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky), so many background noises drown out the usual soundscape that a Bundesliga match day causes that the need to get three points against the Swabians almost got out of earshot.
Fan ban in Naples, contract offer for coach Oliver Glasner, Jesper Lindström’s serious injury, rumors that CEO Axel Hellmann is leaving Eintracht to continue his job at DFL as a permanent employee: the question marks behind the future prospects of the Frankfurt football club overshadow the threat of the present. Namely, that the cheeky Mainz team and the stubborn Wolfsburg team could continue to close in on Eintracht in the event of a defeat against VfB and could seriously jeopardize their European ambitions.
Of most long-term concern is the possibility that Hellmann will not end his involvement with the German Football League on July 1 as originally planned. Eintracht would thus lose the main coordinator for the much-noticed strategic development of the Bundesliga club since 2016. According to information from the FAZ, Hellmann has become hesitant after he recently let it be known internally that he would remain loyal to Eintracht in any case – contrary to the general desire of the professional clubs to take over the vacant post of DFL managing director.
“We are in transition”
The work of the long-standing Eintracht official in the past few months for the league association has been rated positively throughout. However, after his colleague as interim managing director of the DFL, Oliver Leki, extended his contract with SC Freiburg, the pressure on the 51-year-old lawyer, who was born in Würzburg, has increased significantly. At the moment, the association and club officials in German professional football can’t think of a suitable alternative to Hellmann.
Yes, the Frankfurt high-altitude flight has its unpleasant sides, also in the sporting area. Eintracht is perceived differently by the competition, they treat coach Glasner’s team with greater respect and, as a result, with greater caution. Sports director Markus Krösche said this week: “We are therefore in the transformation phase to a ball possession team. More and more often we are faced with the most demanding task in football: having to outplay a deep-seated opponent.”
The best example was the 0:3 at 1. FC Köln. “Coach Baumgart lets his boys attack everything and everyone. However, they didn’t press hard against us, they just left us alone as we built up the game.” Against Stuttgart, too, it is to be expected that the opponent will move away from their usual open style of play in order not to offer the fast-paced Frankfurt offensive any space in the transition moments. “We’re in transition, and that’s why it’s a bit jerky,” says Krösche, describing the team’s performance over the past few weeks. But he is optimistic that solutions will be worked out in training.
Mario Götze should be the guarantor for flashes of inspiration. In any case, the 30-year-old national player has all the facilities to do so. His absence would be even more serious than Lindstrom’s at this stage. In any case, the omens are not bad for a successful performance by Eintracht against VfB.
Glasner has a better point average (2.6) against any other Bundesliga team, and Eintracht has not scored more goals (170) against any other team in Germany’s top division. And Frankfurt’s current home strength in the league (last four wins) speaks for a Eintracht success in the 100th Bundesliga duel with the Swabians as well as Stuttgart’s away weakness (21 games without a win.)
