“If someone says someone can do it better, then I’ll pack my things”
Eintracht Frankfurt has been without a win for nine games. However, coach Oliver Glasner is not up for grabs. Even if the big goal of the European Cup is a long way off. However, two wins could still save the season.
Oliver Glasner stared into an indefinite distance, lost in thought and with an empty gaze, while fellow coach Enrico Maassen commented on the game in the press conference. After the 1: 1 (1: 0) against FC Augsburg, Eintracht Frankfurt has been without a win for nine games in the Bundesliga and the Austrian coach is no longer undisputed. When asked about his future on the Main, he responded calmly: “If someone says someone can do it better than Oliver Glasner, then I’ll pack my things. But I’m relaxed and confident.”
From the management level of the traditional Hessian club, which won the Europa League with the coach and moved into the Champions League, there has so far been no indication of a possible separation. “We have to go through it together now,” said sporting director Markus Krösche. After the meager draw, the hope of making progress in the Bundesliga and making it into the Europa League burst.
It can still succeed by winning the DFB Cup. To do this, the mentally ailing Frankfurters have to win in the semi-finals on Wednesday (8.45 p.m.) at VfB Stuttgart. “We have to show a completely different face in the cup,” demanded Krösche and added resolutely: “We have to act completely differently and win the game with all our might.” There has been a lot of talk lately, but now it’s about “no alibis and To make excuses and grab our own noses”.
When you see the performance, you have to say, says Krösche, that the team probably didn’t understand the situation. National goalkeeper Kevin Trapp vigorously denied this: “I don’t like to contradict my boss, but I know that we in the team certainly know what it’s about.”
Frankfurt in the DFB Cup in Stuttgart
With a win and a place in the cup final on June 3rd in Berlin, the Eintracht crisis could be over for the time being. “It was certainly not our best game,” said Trapp. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t “throw your hands over your head” and say that everything is bad: “We know that we are able to act differently, especially in knockout phases. We could do a lot well with the finals on Wednesday. We have the character to achieve our big goal.”
Against Augsburg, an own goal by Elvis Rexhbecaj (25th minute) gave them the lead, before the careless Eintracht defense made it possible for Ermedin Demirovic to equalize (58th). The Frankfurters have to finally create chances again in Stuttgart and score the goals themselves. “We work football more than we play football. We’re not currently able to create chances to score,” Glasner complained.
One of the best at it and who has scored the most so far with 13 goals is star French striker Randal Kolo Muani. He couldn’t play because of adductor problems. Now he is also threatening to drop out in Stuttgart. “I’m worried about that,” said Glasner. It is also uncertain whether the Dane Jesper Lindström will be able to decisively revitalize the offensive after his mini comeback after an eight-week break.
Apart from whether the winless streak that has lasted since mid-February will continue or whether the turnaround will succeed, the question of the future of the coach remains open. Glasner still has a contract until 2024, but has so far postponed an extension, fueling speculation that has not left the players untouched.
“In the end it’s always like this in football: Some come and others go. That’s how it is in this business, we have to put up with it,” said Trapp. “Everyone can decide that for themselves. It’s like the players. Everyone needs to know what they are up to.”
If you read the coach’s interviews, you can assume “that he will still be on the bench next year”. “So that’s what he says. We are not responsible for what the coach does then,” said the 32-year-old goalkeeper. But Trapp warns: “We have to make sure that we have the heads at the club in the next four weeks. Then everyone can decide for themselves.” This applies to the Japanese Daichi Kamada, whose departure is certain, but also to Kolo Muani, Lindström or defender Evan Ndicka, who also have new commitments in their sights.
