2023-05-13 03:26:00
Although Eintracht coach Glasner is suspended, he will play a central role once more this Saturday. And by the way, there is a football game.
At the end of this eventful week at Eintracht Frankfurt, which resulted in a coach separation at the end of the season, football is actually still being played. Kicked the ball, kicked it, fought for Bundesliga points once morest the currently better neighbors Mainz 05. This Saturday (3:30 p.m. / Sky) the kick-off will sound in the Frankfurt city forest and the Eintracht cosmos, from the players to the fans, will turn get used to it, almost for practice, as it is without Oliver Glasner on the sidelines.
As is well known, the Austrian is suspended, thanks to a silent protest, also known as a ball path bolt, and he will therefore take a seat in a box in the stadium and be silent there alone, or cheer, or swear. You don’t know exactly, you just guess. It is clear that he will submit to the DFB statutes and that the assistants Michael Angerschmid and Ronald Brunmayr will not send any instructions to the bank during the 90 minutes. “I have enough problems,” says Glasner, because he will not create any more.
It is also clear that Oliver Glasner’s personnel will play a central role on the day, despite staying away from the edge of the field. It is to be expected that there will be a number of expressions of affection from all over the world, with posters, possibly with chants. The reaction of the supporters to the approaching coach-off will undoubtedly be the central topic of the day. The other, currently secondary in public perception, might actually become the game. From Eintracht’s point of view, this should (finally) be the focus once more. It is hoped for a free team. How do the players react, who no longer fully support their current coach? Can they pull themselves together for one big goal, for Europe, reachable via the league (unlikely) or the DFB-Pokal (likely)? With a win, it would be the first in the league since February 18, the Hessians from Frankfurt might finally overtake the Rheinhessen from Mainz in the table.
On top of that, it is important not to have to accept any further clapping blows in the neck in the league in the run-up to the big game in Berlin, to somehow muddle your way into something like a flow. And the aim is to take the out-of-shape professionals back to a higher level. Especially in terms of personnel, the shoe pinches. Eintracht have to do without a number of players at the back (Smolcic, Jakic, Max, possibly Tuta), at the front without the yellow card suspended substitute striker Rafael Borré and probably the battered substitute substitute striker Lucas Alario (knee problems).
However, the first offensive row is ready for action – even if not consistently in top form. Jesper Lindström, who has recovered from his ankle injury, should be mentioned as a priority, but who is visibly lagging behind on the time-out. Against Augsburg and Stuttgart he remained pale in short appearances, once morest Hoffenheim he was substituted in the half-time break following a poor performance. “He’s still not completely pain-free and his head isn’t clear either. As a result, he’s not yet 100 percent,” says trainer Glasner, who has a development program in mind for the Danish high-speed fuddler during ongoing operations. He, Lindström, needs minutes, both in training and in games, to “get into the flow”.
The 23-year-old may have to give way to an even younger professional at the start of the game once morest Mainz: Paxten Aaronson, 19, brought from Philadelphia in the winter. The US boy, who recently even made his debut in the senior national team, was able to adapt faster than we expected,” says Glasner: “Paxten is doing an excellent job. He is incredibly hard-working, willing to learn. He listens and wants to record a lot.” This is the prerequisite for being able to make such a leap in performance within a few months. “He’s a great boy.”
Eintracht had originally planned to send the four-million-euro purchase to Argentina for the U-20 World Cup in the next few days, but they will not do so now. She needs Aaronson, the footballer with the rather muscleless body has qualities that are good for Eintracht. He is lively, good at dribbling, and above all much more carefree than most of his teammates. Basically, he is the only real winner among many losers at Eintracht in the second half of the season. “He’s getting closer and closer to the starting eleven,” says Glasner. So close that he might show up there soon and, looking back, should have done so in one game or another.
Meanwhile, Randal Kolo Muani has a firm place, logically, as he is one of the most promising strikers in the world. Despite the weakening collective, the Frenchman has improved significantly since the Qatar World Cup, has matured, become more self-confident, cooler, more ripped off, simply better. Potential new employers are discussed in the media every day, from FC Bayern to Manchester United to Paris Saint-Germain. The flood of interested parties from the crème de la crème will certainly not be detrimental to the transfer fee that can be achieved in the summer.
According to his trainer, however, the speculation bounced off Kolo Muani. Glasner was asked whether he seemed distracted. “Not at all,” he replied quickly. Kolo Muani is a “great boy, totally focused”. He just wants to end the season with a title.
And: “What comes following, comes following,” says Glasner, who basically thinks that Kolo Muani has become more defensive in direct duels, so he has developed well, and on the other hand, the intensity of the duel once morest him on the opposing side is increasing. “I do wish that he gets one or the other foul more.” Kolo Muani is not someone who produces swallows, “not a diver”.
These are – of course in a different context – reserved for the trainer Oliver Glasner.
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