There are only six weeks between November 7th and the fourth Advent. At Eintracht Frankfurt, however, everything has actually changed during this time.
While sports director Markus Krösche was still in the Sport1 “double pass” and had to vehemently justify why he had not declared the relegation battle long ago, this debate seems almost silly today. Frankfurt’s interim balance before Christmas reads: group winners in the Europa League and after a furious run also in the Bundesliga on an international place. “That is an extraordinary yield. We are very satisfied, ”said the beaming Krösche after the 1-0 win against FSV Mainz 05.
The late 2-1 win at Greuther Fürth, which occurred on the evening of Krösche’s visit to the TV talk show, was described by Fredi Bobic’s successor as a kind of key game for the following series of successes. Eintracht has recently won six out of seven Bundesliga games. Only champions FC Bayern Munich were just as good during this period.
Team has evolved
“After the first half of the season, I draw almost an outstanding conclusion. After we left a lot of points behind, going into the winter break with 27 points, it stands for the development of the troops ”, said captain Sebastian Rode after the well-deserved success in the Rhein-Main-Derby. And Oliver Glasner is no longer making his short detour into the sun as a wobbly candidate, but as a stable head coach with promising prospects for 2022.
“I am going on my well-deserved Christmas vacation with great joy and great pride in the players,” said Glasner, who would like to travel first to the south and then to his family in Austria. On December 30th it will continue on the Main. The goals for the next year are clearly outlined: Maintaining the European course in the Bundesliga and, if possible, putting down a run in the favorite Europa League competition that is comparable to the one in 2019, when Eintracht made it to the semifinals.
The fact that Eintracht has catapulted from the relegation zone to the European ranks with only one point behind the Champions League in a few weeks also surprised those responsible. “That is definitely nice, but only a snapshot. We have to continue to function very well as a group, ”said Krösche. Large transfers are not planned in winter. The main focus should be on keeping the coveted and hard-to-replace winger Filip Kostic, despite renewed offers, at least until the end of the season.
Krösche euphoric
A half-year that began for the Hessians with a disastrous cup failure at Waldhof Mannheim and an impending legal dispute over admission to viewers is now ending more than peacefully. In January and February, Glasner will have more time for the first time, because the European Cup will only continue in March due to the direct round of 16. When asked whether he was looking forward to it, Krösche was downright euphoric: “Of course we are happy. We have the coolest job in the world. ” In the past six months, the functionary had always stood in front of Glasner – no matter how loud the criticism in the area was.
Before the high sporting goals can be tackled again, Glasner encourages his players to switch off during the Christmas season. “It’s a very, very dense program. Now they should let soccer be soccer for ten days. They should be happy about things that are otherwise often neglected, ”said the Austrian. Glasner intends to do this himself.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211219-99-440096 / 3
–
