EIt was only a brief insight that they granted. After a quarter of an hour, stewards marched up and made it clear to the few onlookers who were following what was happening at the stadium on this inhospitable morning that the time had come for them to withdraw. According to the UEFA regulations, practice sessions must be open to observers for 15 minutes immediately before a game in the Champions League, after which the teams can prepare themselves in camera for the orientation and line-up they want to use to meet the upcoming opponent .
Oliver Glasner also appreciates the atmosphere behind closed doors, especially before important games, like the one coming up again. In preparation for the round of 16 second leg this Wednesday in Naples (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Champions League and on DAZN), he again relied on a final practice session in familiar surroundings. Only after the morning gallop in the city forest, lunch and a meeting at the professional camp did we go to the airport, from where a special plane flew the convoy to the port city. The starting position is tricky.
After the 2-0 defeat in front of their home crowd on February 21, Eintracht finds itself in the underdog role ahead of the reunion with the Serie A leaders; Especially since Randal Kolo Muani, a key player in attack, is missing and Jesper Lindström (ankle injury) will be out. After the court hiccups, there are no fans to support them from outside. In view of the mixed situation, making yourself smaller than you are is out of the question for Glasner.
The Austrian said that anyone who suspects that he and his team would “hoist the white flag” is subject to a misjudgment: “We want to get ahead, we always do.” He has a “very positive” impression of the team. There is a “very good mood” internally – which also has something to do with the fact that they have often proven that they are capable of “the extraordinary”. “We will throw everything we have into the balance.”
“We still have a chance”
In the previous round, their courage brought them the Europa League title. Also in the first half of this season, as debutants in the premier class, they received a lot of applause for their bold demeanor in the group stage. The fact that the international dream trip is now threatening to end for the time being is not a particularly daring thesis based on the facts. But it doesn’t mean that Glasner and the players hang their heads. Quite the opposite: they strike an undaunted tone in their statements. “We still have a chance. If we do take the lead, chances are they’ll get a little nervous,” Glasner said.
A look at the statistics gives Eintracht reason for hope. In their only duel with SSC up to that point, in the round of 16 of the 1994/1995 UEFA Cup, Frankfurt won 1-0 away in Naples. It is also part of the current reality that the favorite has so far mastered all Champions League home games with ease.
Società Sportiva Calcio scored no fewer than eleven goals against Rangers (3-0), Ajax (4-2) and Liverpool (4-1). In addition, only one team in the premier class has managed to catch up from a two-goal deficit away from home and thus prevailed overall: Four years ago Manchester United won 3-1 after losing 2-0 against PSG in Paris.
Facts that tell of the difficulty of the task, but give some extra encouragement to Eintracht. Sebastian Rode, for example. He, who has already faced a number of low blows in his career that he would not have been able to master without his assertiveness, will be there at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in a different way than at the first exchange of blows. “We have to stay positive,” he said, “and go for it with courage.”
Rode should set impulses
Three weeks ago, the 32-year-old was weak from the flu and sat on the bench. Rode is a prime example of what can be achieved in top-class sport with great willpower. In the winter four years ago he closed the cheerless chapter in Dortmund, where everyone at Borussia had lost faith in him and his body, which had been battered by injuries. But in Frankfurt he got his feet back on the ground.
Fitness coach Martin Spohrer treats weaknesses in his physique with targeted muscle training, so that the veteran in Naples is expected to make a significant contribution to closing the gap in defensive midfield. At the same time, he should use his ball control to set impulses from which the modified offensive (see adjacent scheme) will benefit.
The fact that things haven’t gone well recently and only one of five games was successful (2-0 against Bremen) cannot be denied. It doesn’t really work “much from the gut”, Glasner admitted after the 1-1 draw against Stuttgart. But the knowledge does not rob him of his sleep.
Rather, he concluded that despite everything, it has often paid off in football if you held your ground against what was supposedly imminent until the last whistle of the referee: “We have to work hard for ourselves.” He certainly doesn’t have to do that for someone like Rode say twice.
