For Eintracht Frankfurt, Windischgarsten has been the place where something new should be created for years. For Sebastian Rode it is the beginning of the end. At least this year. The captain will pack his bags for the last time this Friday to leave the summer training camp in Upper Austria, where the team and coaching staff are supposed to get to know each other and grow together. He will soon play one last game against FC Bayern, against Borussia Dortmund and against Darmstadt 98 if he stays fit. And at some point, in about ten months, he will play his last game for Eintracht and maybe think back to the drudgery in Windischgarsten. Of the “mixed feelings” of “sorrow” but also “ambition and vigour” that he feels these days. And he may ask himself the question: was it all worth it?
Sebastian Rode will end his career after this season. “You should never say never, but for me it’s more or less set in stone,” says the 32-year-old midfielder with fragile knees. It will be a farewell tour with no back doors – even if it sounds like he’s still leaving one open. Then, for a moment, the ambitious soccer player speaks in him, who doesn’t think about his knees for a moment. Of the pain, the operations, life after the career with his children. Rode, who thinks of all this, asks himself one question above all: “Do you still want to push yourself so hard to be able to keep up?” Rode doesn’t want to do it anymore. At least from next summer.
The version of him that took a seat on the press podium in Windischgarsten on Thursday has very little in common with the future Rode, who no longer wants to: “I’m hoping for a lot of operational times this year,” says Rode. If it’s hard work, then it should be worth it: “I won’t give in to the youngsters.”
There are a few of them. Qualitatively, Eintracht got good newcomers. However, there is no one in sight who could challenge a fit Rode for his place in the starting XI for 60 or maybe even 70 minutes. Next to him is Ellyes Skhiri as a defensive midfielder. Dina Ebimbe appears as the first contender for the center seat alongside Skhiri if Rode can’t. The Frenchman hasn’t played well in preparation so far. Hugo Larsson shows promising approaches, but still needs to improve in some areas. And Djibril Sow will leave the club soon. The FAZ can confirm that both Lazio and Sevilla FC are very interested in the midfielder. So everything points to Rode next to Skhiri, provided that the new coach Dino Toppmöller relies on two “sixes” in front of the defence.
“Maybe I’ll play in the district league again”
Rode is satisfied with the progress in the training camp. “We were able to train very well and accommodated a lot of content,” he says. And that, although the stay in the climatic health resort was extremely short. On the day of arrival, the team trained only loosely. After that it was four days on which only one unit was on the program twice. Toppmöller had announced that he wanted to focus on defensive processes from Tuesday. However, the personnel situation did not seem to allow it: with Tuta (slight concussion) and Robin Koch (adductor problems), two important players missed large parts of team training. “Of course that’s never a good thing, but we can deal with it,” said sporting director Timmo Hardung. Rode admitted that the week didn’t go quite as well in this regard: “Time is running.” But he was confident. “I just hope the guys get fit and stay fit. And then we still have two weeks in which they can get used to it.” Whether Koch and Tuta can play in the friendly against Vitesse Arnhem in Grödig this Friday (3:00 p.m.) remained open on Thursday. It is quite possible that Toppmöller will initially fall back on the back three at the start of the season because there was hardly any time to practice processes and establish something new.
David Lindenfeld, Windischgarsten Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 4 David Lindenfeld, Windischgarsten Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 1 David Lindenfeld, Windischgarsten Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 4
Rode sees the team and trainer as still being determined. Toppmöller makes a very meticulous impression on him. “He tries to cover every situation in advance with his ideas. I’m very optimistic and positive that we’re going to have a lot of fun with him.” Have fun? That sounds like the Eintracht from the past two seasons. However, it is difficult to top that, says Rode: “It will be difficult to confirm that.”
Even more would have been possible last season without such a damned second half of the season. The reasons for the burglary were varied, Rode explained when he was asked about it on Thursday. Starting with the changed appearance of the opponents, through the increased expectations and wishes of the players, to the coach, who “had his share because he didn’t always make the right statements to the outside world”. All of this should get better in the coming season.
And then? What’s next for Rode? The club would like to employ the player beyond the end of his career. There have already been talks, says Rode. “It was about exploring what I can imagine.” The only problem: Rode doesn’t even know that yet. First of all, he wants to distance himself from professional football, be independent and be able to travel. “These are things I have to find out for myself. How am I doing with that? And then hopefully at some point I’ll know what I want to do.” It’s almost certain that “Charly” Körbel wants to acquire him for the traditional team. “Maybe I’ll play in the district league again.” Rode prefers to be on the pitch – and will take that into account when he really asks himself after the season whether it was all worth it.
