APhilipp Max was not intended as a conversation partner. His Frankfurt teammate Christopher Lenz was to take over the media appointment after the morning training session on Tuesday. But then the winger on the left had to break off the session with thigh problems. Max slipped into the front row for the question-and-answer game. It is also quite possible that the 29-year-old will return to the Eintracht starting lineup instead of Lenz this Friday (8.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on DAZN) in the home game against VfL Bochum.
In the two previous encounters against Union Berlin (0:2) and in the Champions League against Naples (0:3), Max was only used for around 20 minutes. The national team break did him “quite well”, he said. “I played the first seven or eight games from the start. It’s human that things sometimes go down physically.” But now he’s “back to one hundred percent”. After his brilliant start to the second half of the season, the Eindhoven loanee, who was signed by the Hessians at the end of January, was able to gather new strength during the break from competitive games.
Coach Oliver Glasner’s team is facing groundbreaking days on the way back to its old strength. The first division duel against VfL will be followed by a home game against Union Berlin in the DFB Cup quarter-finals next Tuesday (6 p.m.) before the tough away game against Leverkusen on Saturday (3.30 p.m.). It’s forbidden to lose, that’s what the Hessians, who were eliminated in the premier class, have only won one of the last eight competitive games and are therefore behind schedule in pursuing their ambitious plans.
“It’s a very important week,” said Max, “we all know what it’s about. We have to look to get the results back on our side.” Recent failures would probably finally tip the mood in Frankfurt and lead to a deep crisis. In the Bundesliga, sixth place (40 points) threatens to lose touch with places five and four. And from behind, Wolfsburg (38) as well as Leverkusen and Mainz (37 each) have approached the Hessians. Eintracht, which is currently on a Europa Conference League play-off spot, is feeling pressure from all sides. She has to turn things around quickly if she still wants to achieve her goals in the Bundesliga. “It is clear that we want to play internationally. European Cup nights in Frankfurt are something very special for all of us, we want to continue that,” said Max, knowing what to expect from his team: “We are aware that it will be very tough.”
Frankfurt’s defender had to take harsh criticism after the defeat at Union Berlin. With words that were unusually emotional for him in public, Glasner questioned their quality at a high level. Tuta in particular infuriated the football teacher because the Brazilian made another mistake and he doesn’t seem to learn from his big mistakes. Glasner, on the other hand, seemed to have run out of patience. When asked whether Glasner’s statements, which came across as a general settlement, were a topic in the team, Max replied: “We know there are always points where you have to improve. Soccer is a results sport. We were all frustrated. We worked things out and talked about it. Now we are looking ahead again.”
It will definitely not be seen against Bochum how Tuta puts away the negative assessment of his coach because the 23-year-old is suspended due to the fifth yellow card. It is unlikely that Hrvoje Smolcic will start in a central position. As the head of the three-man defense chain, the Croatian has not cut a good figure so far. His robustness and header strength alone are not enough for the diverse tasks. Makoto Hasebe should return to the team as head of central defense. Evan Ndicka or Smolcic could take the position on the right. However, both are left-footed, which is why Kristijan Jakic is a candidate for the post.
And in attack? There Glasner could consider switching to two real leaders in a duel with Bochum – with the French international Randal Kolo Muani, who is on everyone’s lips thanks to his strong international matches, and Lucas Alario. So far, the 30-year-old Argentinian has only been in the second row at Eintracht, with only two appearances in the starting XI showing that. After his substitution in Berlin, Alario was able to liven up the Eintracht game a bit. Rafael Borré was not a good replacement for Frankfurt’s Jesper Lindström, who will probably be out for about a month with an ankle injury. Borré only caused a stir as a Colombia international when he scored a spectacular overhead kick to win the 2-1 friendly against Japan this week. On the Japanese side, Frankfurt’s Daichi Kamada got involved.
Max will probably stay with Eintracht for a long time. As contractually agreed with Eindhoven, his sixth competitive appearance means that Frankfurt are obliged to buy the player, which means that the former national player will permanently change clubs. “I don’t want to comment on contract details. But I like it very much in Frankfurt,” said Max – and smiled.
