Ellyes Skhiri is followed by so many warm words from Cologne that there can actually be no doubt that signing the 28-year-old midfielder for Frankfurt Eintracht will be worthwhile. Especially since the 54-time Tunisian national player (World Cup participant 2018 and 2022) is moving from the Rhine to the Main free of charge. After four years at FC, Skhiri said goodbye with an emotional post and the response was overwhelming.
In addition to many hearts, smileys and thumbs up, there were also verbal contributions: fellow player Nikola Soldo called him “football god”, colleague Jan Thielmann merely commented “genius”, Dimitris Limnios wrote: “I enjoyed playing and training with you. I wish you all the best for the future, my friend.” It fits the picture that Skhiri was recently voted into FC’s “Eleven of the Century” (21st) by the readers of the Cologne tabloid “Express” – with the most Voices of all midfielders.
In his four years as a “sixth in front of defence”, Skhiri made a powerful impression at FC – and in the league. The North African regularly tops the Bundesliga statistics for endurance runners (last season with 393.6 kilometers). The “Express” added up all the seasons and came up with 1419 kilometers in 118 league games for FC – the distance from Cologne is just behind Barcelona. The city where the player to whom his admirers and his compatriots compare him comes from: Sergio Busquets.
Skhiri does not have the really great class of the 143-time Spanish international, who spent his entire footballing life at FC Barcelona until he followed his long-time teammate Lionel Messi to Inter Miami this summer. But the two pros are very similar in terms of their lanky stature (the Tunisian is four centimeters shorter at 1.85 meters), the elegant movement sequences and the way they play.
Eintracht sports director Markus Krösche summarizes many strengths in one sentence: “Ellyes is simply a strategist.” In addition to his extraordinary stamina and almost obsession with running (“some think it’s sick, but I can’t help it”) there is a pronounced sense of space and time, robust duel management and a high level of pass security. “He can read a game, he’s very clever and always finds solutions even in difficult situations,” Krösche continues to praise and adds: “Ellyes is our absolute dream player for this position.”
Which leads to the question of why Eintracht got him. Because there were more potent competitors. After Skhiri had already been linked to Frankfurt in April, the bush drums of the transfer market announced until recently that Eintracht was out of the race. FC Sevilla, AC Milan and AS Roma would be the most promising prospects. Eintracht sports director Timmo Hardung indirectly confirms the process: “We have observed Ellyes for a long time and expressed our interest at an early stage. It turns out that this patience is rewarded.” Sports director Krösche reinforced: “Despite lucrative offers from home and abroad, he opted for Eintracht and thus underlined how much he identified with the task here in Frankfurt.” Say to continue the Eintracht flight, also internationally, and with a young, hungry team, in a traditional club with a huge fan base.
Big fish in the middle pond
In his first interview with the Eintracht media, Skhiri then emphasizes that he is looking forward to the fans. Such phrases from professional soccer players should always be taken with a pinch of salt, but in his case there might be something to it. As early as 2019, when he left his hometown club Montpellier for a fee of six million euros, the “Busquets Tunisians” surprised with his move to 1. FC Köln, perhaps the most emotional Bundesliga club together with Eintracht, instead of going to Milan.
Skhiri seems to prefer being a big fish in a medium pond (and having a regular spot) than a small fish in a big one. Even during his successful time in Cologne, he was repeatedly offered offers, most recently one from Olympique Marseille just under six months ago. But he chose to fulfill his contract in each case. “Because I always felt comfortable in Cologne and felt committed to the club.”
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Steffen Baumgart, his Cologne trainer, also waved flowers at Skhiri as a farewell, calling him by his nickname “Flaco” (the thin one): “Everything Flaco wants to do, he does anyway. Everything he is supposed to do, he does 100 percent. Such is his character. I used to do what was necessary. Bottle is different. He’s special.”
