EHalf an hour before midnight, Niko Kovac and Dino Toppmöller still had a lot to say to each other. The press conference after the goal spectacle between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund (3:3) was long over, but BVB coach Kovac still wanted to whisper something to his counterpart Toppmöller. The exchange was about not being driven too far by expectations, which sometimes reach dizzying heights, especially in Frankfurt, but also in Dortmund, as Kovac, 54, later remarked in a familiar circle.
Eintracht was still a candidate for relegation about ten years ago. In March 2016, the then CEO Heribert Bruchhagen famously brought the football teacher Kovac to his first position in the Bundesliga – back then it still took the detour of relegation to be rescued. In this respect, the eagle bearers are doing really well today; With their efficiency and determination, they at least contributed a lot to the entertainment value of the restart in the German upper house on Friday evening.
Dortmund managing director Lars Ricken saw “the best advertising for the Bundesliga”. He was also able to live with the point win at the last minute because BVB presented themselves as a unit that started the new year with momentum after the training camp in sunny Marbella. Ricken particularly liked the impulses from the bank, saying that they first had to “find a better one”. In addition, players and coaches immediately met management’s request to increase aesthetic standards.
Guirassy takes the penalty, which makes it 1-1
Kovac also praised the offensive performance of his selection, but conceding three goals was “not our standard”. The BVB coach avoided the obvious crisis of his striker Serhou Guirassy, who has been waiting for a Bundesliga goal since October 31st, at least publicly. Every striker has to survive such a dry spell: “It’s very clear: I’ll continue to support him.” However, the fact that Guirassy took the penalty that made it 1-1 was in keeping with the uneven performance of Dortmund’s top striker.
Nevertheless, the spectators, especially the 59,500 in the Waldstadion, had seen “a great start,” said Kovac, adding: “We played a really good game.” BVB took the lead twice through Maximilian Beier (10th) and the strong Felix Nmecha (68th), and Eintracht responded immediately twice through Can Uzun (22nd/foul penalty) and Younes Ebnoutalib (71st) before stoppage time turned into a drama. Because the shot by the former Dortmund player Mahmoud Dahoud (90th + 2) was not supposed to be the happy ending for Hesse. Another substitute, Carney Chukwuemeka (90+6), scored, this time on the opposite side. Both coaches were lucky – and had little to complain about at the press conference later.
“Soccer heart, what more do you want?” Toppmöller prefaced his statement. The 45-year-old had seen “a fair result” after a courageous performance: “You shouldn’t forget: we played against Dortmund. A team that has only lost once in the last 24 Bundesliga games. When it comes to intensity and duels, we took the stadium with us.” If you keep your team’s “power and energy,” you will be rewarded in time. What would have to be proven in the away games at VfB Stuttgart next Tuesday and at Werder Bremen on Friday.
The Frankfurt team seem to be better prepared for the challenging month of January, in which Eintracht are also fighting at Qarabag Agdam and against Tottenham Hotspur for the last chance to advance in the Champions League, because sports director Markus Krösche has done a great job on the winter transfer market. In particular, the signing of the best second division goal hunter Ebnoutalib from SV Elversberg could be a stroke of luck. It was always impressive how the daredevil was rewarded for his courageous performance in the 2-2 draw.
It almost went wrong to put the ball in front of you with your sole. “When I ran towards the goal alone, I was a bit overwhelmed. Completely new, in front of such a backdrop. Then I picked up the ball too late and thought to myself: ‘Nope!’ But then I just tried to shoot it somehow,” admitted the Frankfurt native on the Sat 1 microphone. On Sky, the 22-year-old revealed why he formed the numbers 4, 3 and 9 with his hands while celebrating the goal. A homage to the northwestern city, because 60 439 is the postal code of a district of the Main metropolis that is not well-known.
The German-Moroccan is proud of his origins – and his family, who waited in the stands after the final whistle. The jersey went to his brother Ilias, who plays in the second team at Hannover 96. “I was a real workhorse and always tried to accept things from my coaches that I was doing wrong,” explained Ebnoutalib. A year ago he was playing in the fourth division at FC Gießen. He also politely thanked his new teammate Arnaud Kalimuendo, the loanee from Nottingham Forest had put the ball in his path in an exemplary manner: “It was perfect timing: my route, his pass.”
Toppmöller has attacking options again after the loss of national striker Jonathan Burkardt. Ebnoutalib “swimmed free straight away: he has a good instinct and good depth,” said the trainer. Kalimuendo, on the other hand, showed “good activity and a very good understanding of the game”. Kovac was also convinced that the 23-year-old Frenchman would help Eintracht. He knows the Paris-trained professional from his coaching days at AS Monaco, but remembers him as more trained. In response to the objection that his eternal problem child Niklas Süle had apparently gained weight again during the short winter break, Dortmund’s coach responded with a meaningful smile and said: Now it’s really time to say goodbye to his old place of work. Nothing should spoil this joyful evening of football.
