Bundesliga European Cup participation
Frankfurt, Hoffenheim and Heidenheim keep their fingers crossed for BVB and Leverkusen
As of: 1:31 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
“Dismal end to a dismal Bayern season, also for Thomas Tuchel”
Great relief at Union Berlin, equally great sadness at 1. FC Köln and FC Bayern’s embarrassing end to the season: the 34th Bundesliga matchday once again delivered many stories. Walter M. Straten from the sports department assessed this at WELT TV.
Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund can make fans of other clubs happy with more wins this year. Those who would benefit would be Eintracht Frankfurt, 1899 Hoffenheim and newly promoted Heidenheim. BVB could even create something new.
This constellation is rare in football, but the fans of Eintracht Frankfurt, TSG Hoffenheim and 1. FC Heidenheim will be keeping their fingers crossed for completely different clubs in the coming days. Thanks to the success of the Bundesliga clubs in the European Cup, sixth-placed Frankfurt can still hope to qualify for the Champions League, while eighth-placed Heidenheim is sensationally in contention for a place in the play-offs of the Conference League. Hoffenheim could still advance to the Europa League as seventh from the Conference League.
Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund can make these dreams come true in their finals in the DFB Cup and the Champions League.
Premier class in Hesse
If BVB wins the premier class against Real Madrid in London on June 1st, Eintracht will play in the reformed Champions League next season instead of the Europa League – alongside Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart, FC Bayern, RB Leipzig and Dortmund . Six German starters would be a novelty.
“We will of course keep our fingers crossed for Dortmund,” said Eintracht coach Dino Toppmöller. And Frankfurt’s sports director Markus Krösche will also be a BVB fan that day. “I basically wish BVB to win the Champions League, also for Germany. You have a chance. I would be happy for Dortmund – and the consequences are well known,” said Krösche.
Despite moving back into international competition, Toppmöller’s future as coach of Eintracht Frankfurt is uncertain. After the 2-2 draw against RB Leipzig in the last Bundesliga game of the season, Krösche avoided making a clear commitment to continuing the collaboration with the 43-year-old in the coming season.
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“It was a learning process for him and not an easy job. He had a difficult year,” said Krösche about Toppmöller, for whom Eintracht is his first stop as Bundesliga head coach. “The next few days will be about analyzing what we can do better and where we can develop further.”
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Even when asked repeatedly, Krösche did not want to commit to Eintracht starting the new season with Toppmöller. “We all have to improve. But why should we discuss personal details today? This is not the right moment,” said the Frankfurt sports director. Toppmöller’s contract runs until summer 2026.
Regardless of the move into the Europa League, Krösche did not give the team a good report overall. “We know that we have to improve our football and be more consistent in our performance. “We didn’t play good football for long stretches this season,” summed up Krösche.
Europa League in Kraichgau
Hoffenheim will advance to a European Cup if Leverkusen wins the DFB Cup final against second division team 1. FC Kaiserslautern in Berlin on May 25th. The starting place reserved for the cup winner would then go to the league because Bayer is already qualified for the Champions League. The final of the premier class has no impact here. If BVB wins in Dublin and Leverkusen loses in Berlin, FCK will start in the Europa League and the remaining place in the second European Cup will go back to UEFA. Hoffenheim would start in the play-offs for the Conference League.
Conference League at Brenz
If Leverkusen wins the cup, Heidenheim will move into the play-offs of the Conference League – as promoted teams for the 2022/23 season. “Maybe it will actually work,” said Jan-Niklas Beste. “We’ll watch the game in a relaxed manner while on vacation.” The Heidenheimers have never played internationally in their history.
