Bochum. At Eintracht Frankfurt the mood is bad. The new strikers don’t sting, you don’t see a unit yet. The VfL Bochum opponent in the check.
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Eintracht Frankfurt meets Olympiacos on Thursday after the 1: 2 setback against Hertha BSC in the Europa League, it is the duel of the second against the first in Group D. Also Bochum’s trainer Thomas Reis will take a closer look: Tactically and personally there are currently many question marks at the Hessians, next Sunday next Bundesliga opponent of VfL (7.30 p.m. / Vonovia-Ruhrstadion).
Frankfurt got off to a scary start to the season with a 2-0 draw at third division club SV Waldhof Mannheim, and things have seldom got better since then. Eintracht is only one point ahead of the newcomer from Bochum. It’s the result of (too) many draws, it’s already five. Against two of the three supposedly sharpest VfL competitors in the relegation battle, against Augsburg (0-0) and Bielefeld (1: 1), it was just as unsuccessful as against Stuttgart (1: 1), Wolfsburg (1: 1) and Cologne (1: 1).
Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner delivers a memorable press conference
In addition, there is a 2: 5 at the start of the season in Dortmund and recently a lot of light and a lot of shadow in short succession. First Frankfurt celebrated a 2-1 triumph at Bayern, thanks in part to the outstanding goalkeeper Kevin Trapp and plenty of luck. Then it set against Hertha from Berlin, which until then had only been victorious against Fürth and Bochum, a sensitive 1: 2 home defeat.
Coach Oliver Glasner broke his collar at the press conference afterwards, as reported, he went hard with the team, but also included himself in the criticism. “It doesn’t give a shit what system we play in if we don’t do our tasks,” he said and then concluded in a linguistically milder way, but just as clearly in the matter: “That was just too little of all of us, of me too.”
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Change in coaches and board members: so far without success
So the mood is cool in winter in the middle of autumn. Glasner, who had been successful with Wolfsburg in the preseason, has not yet been able to build on the success of his predecessor Adi Hütter. Possibly a consequence of the upheaval: In addition to Hütter, whom Borussia Mönchengladbach lost, the long-standing successful sports director Fredi Bobic also left the club for Berlin.
He was followed by the ex-Paderborn and discoverer of Bochum’s winger Christopher Antwi-Adjei, Markus Krösche, who was still in office at RB Leipzig until the end of April. For all four, by the way, things are anything but normal at their new clubs.
Kostic and Younes wanted to change – only Kostic plays a leading role again
There may also be some discrepancies in the team. Filip Kostic wanted to move to Lazio Rome, in the end he had to stay after a lot of (media) noise. That didn’t make for peace. Meanwhile, Kostic is again an important key player in the Eintracht offensive. The man for the difference, Glasner leaves no doubt about that either. The question is how best to use it and how to protect it defensively.
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The case is different with Amin Younes, whose change he had hoped for also failed. Younes has not appeared in the Eintracht squad since the second game day. And thus an expensive grandstand guest.
After Silva’s departure: New offensive forces have not yet stung
Top scorer Andre Silva has left Frankfurt, with 28 goals and eight assists who guaranteed points in the previous season. He moved to RB Leipzig for around 23 million euros. Silva is well known to the Bochumers from the guest appearance in Leipzig, when he headed the 1-0 straight after being substituted on and prepared the 2-0.
The new strikers Sam Lammers (on loan from Atalanta Bergamo), Jesper Lindström (on loan from Brondby IF / Denmark for 7 million euros), the Colombian international Rafael Borre (free transfer from River Plate / Argentina) and Jens Petter Hauge (on loan from AC Milan) could not convince so far. The coach is accused by the specialist magazine Kicker, for example, why a Daichi Kamada, who was a regular player in the preseason and who was involved in 20 hits (5 goals / 15 assists), has only been a supplementary player so far. Kamada recently played for Japan with Bochum’s Takuma Asano.
Some changes can be expected against Piraeus
Overall, Oliver Glasner has apparently not yet managed to form a new unit that thinks together as in the previous season. Frankfurt stormed into the Europa League with poison, gall and individual classes of types like Kostic, Kamada or Silva. On Thursday evening (9 p.m.), Eintracht will meet the top Greek club Olympiacos Piraeus, two points ahead of them.
A number of changes in the offensive are expected, with Kamada, the ex-Schalke loan from Goncalo Pacienca and Borre from the start. And Thomas Reis, the VfL coach, will also take a close look at the formation in which, for example, with a back three or four, the Frankfurters want to take a step forward before showing up at the Ruhrstadion on Thursday.
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Bochum’s coach Reis promises a “top fit” team against Frankfurt
“We have our ideas in mind, regardless of which formation Frankfurt comes up with,” Reis is already confident. After two units each on Tuesday and Wednesday – playfully and tactically with a ball in the morning, strength / conditioning training in two groups in the afternoon – his professionals should recover on Thursday. From Friday, the preparation for Frankfurt will continue. “And on Sunday,” promises Reis, “we will be in top shape.”
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