Simply not enough: Eintracht Frankfurt 1:1 Borussia Mönchengladbach

 
Can you be both encouraged and disappointed at the same time?  Eintracht's performance vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday was as good a performance as we've seen in the last 7 weeks, which is why it is also disappointing to come away with only 1 point.  Die Adler played hard, they played with passion, and they displayed (for the most part) interest and passion to bring home 3 points.  They were the better team.....mostly.  They also displayed too many lapses in focus to put this game away and bring home the three points.  In a game Eintracht needed points, they did enough to bring home 1 at the friendly confines of Deutsche Bank Park.  Are they gaining late traction?  Is this a sign of turning things around?  That remains to be seen, but let's look at what happened in the most recent game in this frustrating streak of results.

What went right:

Defensive Pressure:

Eintracht really disrupted Mönchengladbach's attack with their pressure. That not only limited the touches that Florian Neihause (29) and Marcus Thuram (52) got, it also disrupted many of the passes downfield allowing the defense to get back and recover.  The pressure seemed to really get to both fullbacks Joe Scalley and Ramy Bensebaini.  Scalley (19 possessions lost on 59 touches) was often caught deep in his own end with few options to go to as RKM, and the Eintracht midfield applied pressure.  Bensebaini (23 possessions lost on 73 touches) wasn't much better.  The pressure forced Daniel Farke's side to play from the back, but the midfield marking of Sow and Rode kept the counter at bay (mostly). 

Part of the reason that Mönchengladbach only managed 4 shots was Eintracht was pushed up soo high that they barely broke into the final third.  Die Fohlen managed only 45 touches in the final third the entire night, and only 14 touches inside the box.  

You can see from this sequence how the combination of marking and trapping essentially took the midfield out of the attack.  The sequence ended with Lenz deflecting the ball for a turnover without possession even taking place across the midfield line.  Oliver Glasner put together a near-perfect defensive game plan for this game, and it was executed really well.  There was one time that Hasebe and Tuta got caught high AND Mönchengladbach was able to make a good combination pass, and it cost Eintracht badly.

The Transition Game.

Eintracht had no problem moving the ball down the field and into the attacking third.  By contrast, Eintracht had 240 touches into the final third, and 35 in the box.  It was more than just quick counterattacking play, however.  Eintracht was able to progress the ball forward and a variety of ways.  Long forward runs, deep passing, slow build-up, quick-hitting combos, they were all there.  The possession stats show how varied the attack was.  59% possession, 623 passes attempted, 90 of which were longer than 30 yards.  This was a totally dominating effort, especially in terms of winning the ball back, progressing it down the field, and creating chances. In the second half, Eintracht only allowed 1 shot (a soft header by Eveldi off a free kick). 

What went wrong?

Finishing.  

The finishing was atrocious.  Eintracht had 10 shots inside the penalty box including some point-blank misses by RKM, and Ebimbe.  There were some tough misses by Tuta and an RKM shot that was saved by the woodwork.  Credit to Jonas Omlin who also made some a couple of tough saves.

Set Pieces and Corners.

Eintracht had 10 corners, 6 in the second half.  Even though there were a few close plays they couldn't get one play in the back of the net.  The corners seemed to have little imagination to them, as Eintracht was lobbing it up hoping someone could get on the end of it.  But without Evan N'Dicka on the pitch, there was really little threat to actually go up and get a head on it.  The set pieces and corners seemed extremely bland from a team that was at a significant height deficit entering the game.

Final Thoughts:

• Glasner:  "That's encouraging. This team has a great character. Everything else shouldn't influence us. If we keep going like this, the victories will come again." 

• Krösche: "The performance and the dominance give us hope," 

I tend to agree with both of these statements.  The effort and the execution were there, and the game literally came down to being unable to make 1 play.  1 play on defense, and this game is 1-0.  Finishing 1 of the chances in front of the net, it's 2-1.  This is often the way in the game of Fußball, but Eintracht played well enough to win.

Thanks again for reading.

#Nur Die SGE.

Brian.

Glasner's Angry, Gotze is complaining, but how does Eintracht get back on track?

 The newspapers (at least the usual German Newspapers that I read) all have the same things to say: (1) Glasner is angry and thin-skinned. (2) Mario Gotze complains too much. (3) This drop at the end of the season was predictable and is an almost yearly occurrence.  But what no one is talking about is how Eintracht gets back on track?  This is not your usual Eintracht squad.  This one has depth, experience, and the talent necessary to be in a top 6 spot. While tired legs and (probably) some bruised egos are to blame for the current fall from a European contention, the currently sit only 2 points behind Leverkusen for the 6th and final European spot.  Yes, they still have life to qualify for Europe through the Pokal, but for the sake of this article, let's just focus on getting Eintracht back to winning in the league and moving back up the table with 7 games left to play.

Run!

Very simply put, the loss of Jesper Lindstrøm has really hurt this team.  There are many reasons why the slip has happened since last year's Bundesliga Rookie of the Year went down with a ligament injury.  Lindstrøm's value to Eintracht was multidimensional, but none of those dimensions made more of an impact than his ability to run.  Lindstrøm's legs helped press the opponent's back line, wreak havoc in the transition game, and create huge holes for his teammates to run into.  Look at the picture above, right before Mario Gotze blows past Schalke's back line, finding Lindstrøm at the back post for a goal. All three are pressing the gaps of Schalke's back line with Embibe, Kamada, Sow and Knauf filling in behind them.  The front three, all set like loaded springs ready to uncoil unleashed fear on the opposing backlines for the majority of the season.  They were playing at track meet pace, but over the last few weeks that's changed.  Look below at his first goal against Borussia Monchengladbach on Match Day 11.

The pure speed of the front three, running tactically and in concert is 2/3rds of this goal.  Lindstrøm's quality and daringness make up the other 1/3rd.  This isn't a solitary moment though.  Jesper ran so fast and so often that his average position was actually slightly higher than RKM's. This was actually a common occurrence through the early portions of the year.

Jesper is still among the leaders in the Bundesliga in Intensive runs.  That's a credit to his work rate, and how running was opening up a large amount of space for Sow, Rode, and Kamada behind them. Without him, the timing, spacing, and directness of the offense have changed.  Borre is often playing closer to the mid-line, or more out wide than Jesper played which is changing the pace and directness that froze defenses all across Europe.  

Rafael Borré is also a much different player than Lindstrom.  Rafael is better in pockets of space, distributing and working meticulously towards the net.  Rafael is a very good back-to-the-net player and a smart and heady passer.  Jesper plays best when he plays like his hair is on fire, screaming down the field like an angry banshee.  He's more direct and has a much higher top-end speed than Borre.  

The second part of this is applying pressure to the opposing team's back line. Look here in the early part of the game against Leverkusen, you can see RKM trying to get Borre higher up the pitch to take away the other CB.

And granted, this is one possession within the first 1:15 of the game, but it was a trend in this game that led to his positioning being so low in this game.  By dropping and taking the holding midfielder away, Borre pushed Rode further back and as well and slowed down the transition game. This also may have been by design, because both he and Gotze are leaving the fullbacks wide open.   Whether by design or not, Eintracht is better when they are putting pressure on the opponents' ball handlers and covering the next pass.  Their biggest strength is their ability to cover ground quickly (especially with their front 7) and make the opponents play 70-80 yards under pressure.  When the opponents are able to sit back and make easy relief passes, Oliver Glasner's defense begins to break down.  They are also a deadly transition team with RKM, Gotze, Sow, and both wingback positions.  To really get back on track, Eintracht need to simply do what they do best and run.

The back line is in shambles.

The backline has been the most inconsistent part of this team all year.  Coming into the year, many were hoping that Tuta would be in the form that led Eintracht to the Europa league title last year.  He's been extremely disappointing this year.  The back three of Tuta, Toure, and N'Dicka have been in constant flux since Tuta went down with a quad injury early in the year.  Their size and athleticism had begun to be matched with game experience and instincts, but Tuta has seem to taken a step back (especially since his ankle injury in the game against Lech Poznan in January), and N'Dicka seems to be exhausted.  N'Dicka is missing plays he used to make easily.

1-0

2-0 and game.  This of course doesn't even cover the horrendous play by Jakic on the third goal, where he was completely unaware of the situation and allowed a ball to drop that he never should have.  Jakic is has been playing somewhat out of position at RCB most of the year, but this doesn't give him a pass.  He's a veteran, he should know better. With Max and N'Dicka both being down with injury, the left side of this team is in trouble if Jonas Hoffman plays.  

Final Thoughts:

It's not all doom and gloom as many prognosticators say.  But it's also not going to be an easy road to climb the table and catch Leverkusen, Freiburg or Leipzig.  It all starts with one game, and let's go get it on Saturday.  

Thanks again for reading.

Forza S.G.E.

Brian.

Season Preview: 2022/2023

 

Bundesliga Season Preview (2022/2023) – Eintracht Frankfurt

Basics: Full Name: Eintracht Frankfurt e.V.
Nicknames: Die Adler (The Eagles); S.G.E.; Launische Diva (Moody Diva) Founded: March 8th, 1899 

Club Colors: Black, White,(Schwarz - Weiss Vie Schnee!) and Red.
Primary Rivals: Kickers Offenbach, Mainz ‘05, 1. FC Kaiserslautern,
Fan Friendship: Oldham Athletic (England)
Stadium: Duetsche Bank Park (Das Waldstadion)

Year Built: 1925 Capacity: 51,500 2017-2018
Attendance: 444,750 (26,162 per match; 5th in Bundesliga)
Trophies: 

• German Championship – 1959 
• DFB Pokal – 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988, 2018 
• 2.Bundesliga – 1997/1998 
• UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League – 1979-80 , 2021-22
• UEFA Intertoto Cup – 1967 2019/2020

Kits:

Coach: Oliver Glasner

2020/21 Bundesliga Position: 5th DFB

Pokal Result: Lost in Second Round

Roster Changes:

Additions: Lucas Alario, Jens Petter Hauge, Mario Götze, Kristijan Jakic, Hrvoje Smolčić, Randal Kolo Muani, Aurélio Buta, Faride Alidou, Marcel Wenig.

Returning from Loan: Ali Akman, Fynn Otto, 

Players Leaving: Steven Zuber, Dominik Kohr, Rodrigo Zalazar, Danny da Costa, Aymen Barkok, Stefan Ilsanker, Martin Hinteregger, Erik Durm, Enrique Herrero, Martin Pecar, Elias Bördner, Ragnar Ache, Antonio Foti, Sam Lammers

2021/2022 Overview: 

It was a season of two faces......as if Jekyll-and-Hyde had enchanted our beloved Diva and turned her into something better, and worse.  The magical run through Europa League was the most exhilarating experience I had ever had as a fan of Eintracht Frankfurt.  The 11th place finish in the Bundesliga Table was among the most disappointing.  Along the way were historic victories (2-1 vs. Bayern in Munich), and heartburn-causing defeats (SV Waldhof in the DFB Pokal, the opener vs. Dortmund, Hertha, Bochum, Bielefeld).  The season had more good than bad, however, as Die Adler qualified for Champions League for the first time.  

While it was a season with ups and downs, it was also a season of refinement for the Eagles as new players, a new system, a new coach, and a new Front Office began to reshape the Eagles after the departure of Adi Hutter, Fredi Bobic, and Andre Silva. Oliver Glasner worked hard to create continuity and install his system, and in the end had a team that didn't really excel at anything.  11th in Goals Scored, 7th in Goals Against, and Eintracht's -4 Goal Differential was 10th in the Bundesliga.  Despite Kevin Trapp's brilliant and often Super Heroic play, Eintracht kept only 5 clean sheets on the year, ranking 14th in the league.  What really hurt the most was the fact they scored 25 goals less than the year before, and newcomer Rafael Santos Borre continuously struggled to find footing and space in front of the net.  Borre's 8 goals paced the team, however, it was a far cry from the productivity we've seen at the striker position over the last decade.  Couple that with inconsistent performances from key playmaker Daichi Kamada and Eintracht were constantly chasing goals they couldn't get, only to give one up by chasing the goal.  

There were bright spots.  Newcomers Jesper Lindstrøm, Angsar Knauff, and Kristijan Jakić were terrific additions to the team and helped carry Eintracht to an unbeaten Europa League run.  Filip Kostic was......well....Filip Kostic, and the combination of Tuta and Evan N'Dicka were solid all year long.  The culmination of the season, a trophy-winning performance in the Europa League, a performance this fan base has been yearning for, was almost worth the 4 decades' wait.  Borre and Trapp secured their statues outside Deutsche Bank Park, and the Frankfurter Römer was soo festive it made Mardi Gras look tame.  

2022-23 Outlook:

The biggest story of this offseason is a part of the squad that has been desperately missing: depth.  Most importantly attacking depth.  The additions of Kolo Mauni, Gotze, and Alario will give Oliver Glasner a myriad of weapons to bring in late-game energy, adjust tactics and the starting 11, and give flexibility in squad rotations.  For the last several years, Eintracht hasn't had the depth of squad to compete in two or three competitions at once.  With the depth added this offseason, there shouldn't be much drop-off from game to game and will allow Glasner to keep fresh legs for all three fronts.

The additions of Smolčić and Onguéné are much needed after the departures of Martin Hintiregger and Stefan Ilsanker.  Overall, this squad should be in much better shape than it has been at any point in the last 12 years, and the amazing part is how much of it came on free transfers.  

Position Outlook:

Goalkeeper

Kevin Trapp, Jens Grahl, Diant Ramaj, Matteo Bignetti

Kevin Trapp returns between the posts for his 8th term in Black and White.  Trapp was simply brilliant last season and was arguably the best Keeper in Germany.  Trapp's fiery leadership and intensive style are the driving force behind Eintracht's success over the last 4 years.  Trapp posted his best statistical season since he returned to Frankfurt, allowing a Frankfurt-best 1.31 goals against/game, posted a save percentage of 73.7% (best ever for him at Eintracht, third best in the Bundesliga), stopped  152 shots (1 off his career high), and posted a career-best 17 wins on the year.  He was THE reason Eintracht won the Europa Pokal against Rangers. Not only his penalty stop but also the unbelievable save he had to keep the game 1-1 in the 119th minute.  Trapp should be able to write whatever history here he wants, as he's signed through 2024, and should end his career at Deutsche Bank Park.  Grahl, Ramaj, and 18-year-old Matteo Banetti may see some spot time as the year goes on, but don't look for any of them to make any noise.

Central Defense:

Evan N'Dicka, Tuta, Almamy Touré, Jérôme Onguéné, Hrvoje Smolčić, Makoto Hasebe. 

Evan N'Dicka returns to lead the backline for the 2022 season.  N'Dicka is an enormously talented and highly underrated defender.  The tall (6'4"), super athletic defender is the cornerstone to the Eintracht defense.  N'Dicka led all defenders and was second in the Bundesliga in Arial Duels won (151, 184 across all competitions), led Eintracht in dribblers tackled (49), blocks (104), balls recovered (457) clearances (160), tackles (89), passes completed (2028), and ranked fourth in interceptions (90) across all competitions. Add to that his 4 goals, 4 assists, 85.4% passing efficiency, and 100 progressive passes completed and N'Dicka is as talented and well-rounded a defender as you will find in Germany. He is also a workhorse, posting 43 starts (44 appearances) and playing 3,916 minutes.  Only Kevin Trapp posted more.  

N'Dicka will be coupled with two lightning-quick and extremely smart defenders: Tuta and Toure.  The latter two are tough gritty defenders, locking down the right side of attacks.  Toure had a very low-key but excellent season last year, spending much of the time on the bench in favor of Makato Hasebe and Martin Hintiregger.  It wasn't until October he began to see any regular playing time, and he took over for the injured Hinteregger late in the year.  Toure started both legs of the matchups against Barcelona and West Ham, and started the final over Rangers after not seeing the field for almost all of January, February, and March. Tuta started last year off rough, losing time after the defeats to Manhoff and Dortmund.  He managed to work his way into solid form, and after October was a mainstay in the starting 11.  Tuta managed to pitch in over 3,000 minutes on 37 starts, both better than his accumulated career total entering the season.  With these three, Eintracht has a young and athletic back line they can grow with.  

The ageless Makato Hasebe returns for what is most likely his last season as a player.  Signing an agreement to play one more year with the Eagles before moving into a coaching role, the 38-year-old will provide quality depth in the starting 11 and off the bench.  Onguéné has the chance to be dynamic. He's tall, fast, has good instincts, and has the physicality to win the ball back in the box.  He is very reminiscent of a right-footed, slightly shorter, Evan N'Dicka.  Smolčić is a steady, left-footed veteran defender that will add depth and can hopefully take some of the workload off of N'Dicka.  Despite the loss of #HintiArmy, this unit is very deep and extremely talented.

Midfield.

Sebastian Rode, Djibril Sow, Makoto Hasebe, Daichi Kamada, Jesper Lindstrøm, Ajden Hrustic, Mario Götze, Kristijan Jakić, Mehdi Loune, Marcel Wenig

Is there a bigger sign that this is not the same ol' Eintracht way of doing business than the bringing in of Mario Götze?  While far from the Götze of the World Cup-winning DFB, Götze is a smart veteran who will bring experience, toughness, and lots of energy to this midfield.  This move is basically a higher-powered version of the Sebastian Rode move that has worked out soo well for Eintracht.  Götze has the ability to revitalize his career in Germany after a two-year stint with PSV Eindhoven.  Super Mario can still make plays, posting 10 assists in over 3,000 minutes in 2022, and with the weapons around him in Frankfurt, you can expect for Götze to really cause problems to the opposing defense.  The key piece of this offseason, Götze and Eintracht are a perfect pairing.  Eintracht doesn't NEED Götze to be the star, they just need him to be a piece of the puzzle.  There are enough players around him that all he needs to do is relax and make the right play, and there should be plenty of opportunities for him to do that this year.  What Eintracht needs the most out of Götze is consistency, something they desperately lacked last year with Daichi Kamada and Jesper Lindstrøm.  While both made plays and Lindstrøm was named  Bundesliga Rookie of the Year, they both had a bucketload of plays they simply didn't make.  

Kamada, much like Eintracht over the years, has been a player of two faces.  There's "Bundesliga Kamada", who is wildly inconsistent and often unable to make the final play.  Then There's "Every Other Competition Kamada", who is a star.  In the last two European Campaigns, (2019/20; 2021/22) Kamada has 11 goals and 3 assists in 1,800 minutes played. In 2021/22, Daichi had 4 goals and 3 assists in 2,100 Bundesliga Minutes, in 2019/2020, he had 2 goals and 4 assists in 1,900 Bundesliga minutes.  His best season in Frankfurt came with no European competition.  Jesper needs to make a big jump this season, and while he flashed the ability to hit scorchers into the back of the net, he also seemed to struggle with the physicality and pace of play that the Bundesliga brings.  Aidjen Hrustic will also be in the mix, look for him to add rotational/bench minutes throughout the year.  

The strength of this Eintracht team will be in its defensive midfield.  With Rode, Jakic, and Sow Eintracht have a high-energy, hard-nosed, blue-collar midfield that will fight for the ball all over the pitch.  Sow was one of the Bundesliga's most productive defensive midfielders last year:

548 Pressures - 7th Best among midfielders.

69 Tackles - 8th 

70 Interceptions - 5th 

302 Recoveries - 10th 

Sow is a gnat in the midfield, buzzing around and making everyone uncomfortable.  He's the most important part of the midfield, he sets the tone with his energy and work rate.  Rode and Jakic are both rough, rugged defenders who bring tenacity and physicality to the midfield, and the ability to break lines with the pass.  I mean, who doesn't remember this?

Loune and Wenig are both intriguing young prospects who may see time in friendlies or Pokal matches but would be surprised if either passes 100 minutes played.

Wings/Wingbacks:

Filip Kostic, Timmy Chandler, Ajden Hrustic, Jens Petter Hauge, Feride Alidou, Ansgar Knauff, Aurélio Buta, Jan Schröder, Christopher Lenz.

The best news of this offseason is that Filip Kostic is still here.  2021/22 was the first year since his arrival that Kostic didn't lead the Bundesliga in crosses from open play, and still managed to get in 71 more than the 3rd place finisher.  He is the machine that drives the attack, but Eintracht has become less reliant on him in a good way.  Ansgar Knauff has helped balance out the attack, giving the Eagles the ability to attack down both sidelines.  Both Kostic and Knauff are two-way players, tracking back and attacking opposing ball carriers and playing the passing lanes like angry dogs.  The duo help stretch the field both vertically and horizontally because they are a constant threat to beat teams in behind.  As big as Kostic has been for Eintracht over the last 3 years, the best signing of last year was bringing Knauff in on loan from Dortmund.  Knauff's right-footed laser beam in the 48th minute of the second leg against Barcelona secured advancement by Die Adler, and his header 48 seconds into the opening matchup against West Ham helped pave the path to the Championship, and his perfect square back that found Borre right in front of the net secured it.  Knauff made big plays in big moments from the moment he put on the Black and White.

While this pair streaks up and down the touchline like banshees, there is a notable dropoff in ability between them and their relief.  Lenz, Hauge, and Hrustic are a large step down from the two above them, and Timmy Chandler has lost a step or two along the way.  While Hauge and Hrustic can get forward and threaten the defense, they aren't quite as fast and are not the crossing threats of the first group.  Lenz and Chandler are solid defenders, but not quite as dangerous going forward.  The newcomers, Alidou and Buta, offer the same athleticism but are young and unproven.  Alidou did manage 1,200 minutes and posted 2 goals and 3 assists last year for Hamburg in the 2. BLiga, but will need to make a jump to the next level if he hopes to make an impact. Buta should be a depth/rotational piece who could work his way into the rotation as the year goes on.

Striker:

Rafael Borré, Randal Kolo Muani, Lucas Alario, Gonçalo Paciência, Ali Akman

Quality depth at striker was the largest need of the offseason.  While Borre struggled to adjust to the Bundesliga and find the back of the net with consistency, there was no one behind him that could offer any form of help.  The additions of Lucas Alario and Randal Kolo Mauni are not only huge depth pieces but give Glasner guys that can actually push Borre for playing time.  RKM is electric, his straight-line speed is world-class, and has good feet for a player of his size (6'2").  He's not only tall, but has a good frame and while the physicality of Bundesliga defenders will take some time to adjust to, he's not scared to throw a shoulder into a defender while fighting for the ball.  He can also do something this team has sorely missed since Sebastian Haller: simply go get the ball.  He has excellent leaping ability and at 6'2" he can get to balls most Bundesliga defenders won't be able to and his speed allows him to run past most defenders and get to balls others can't. It should be much more shocking that Eintracht was able to get him on a free transfer than it was, but it's a story that hasn't had much publicity.

 Alario is an also excellent addition.  The veteran Bundesliga striker scored .81 goals per 90 minutes over the last two years, which would have placed him 4th in the Bundesliga if he'd had enough minutes to qualify.  Alario is smart, finds positions well, and can really put his head on the ball.  He's a fantastically accurate shooter, posting shot-on-target percentages of 48.6% and 56.5% the last two years.  Behind them is the ever-dependable Gonçalo Paciência.  Paciência will see a drastic drop off in playing time during these campaigns, but is a terrific locker room guy and needs to be around.  Ali Akman returns after his stint in the Netherlands.  The 19-year-old knocked home 6 goals and 0 assists in just over 1500 minutes played for NEC Nijmegen in 2022.  With this group, Eintracht has a very talented, very deep group that will allow Glasner to play 1,2, or even 3 of them together if he wants.  With Alario, Muani, and Gotze in tow, Eintracht will add roughly 15 goals this year in league play.

 

Synopsis:

This is the most talented group of Eintracht players, top to bottom, that we've seen here in a while.  They have plenty of depth at most key positions, especially the midfield, forwards, and back line. While there have been better top-end individuals, this group has a chance to be special.  If they can gel and come together, this could easily be the best Eintracht group since the 1990s.  The fact that there was addition without subtraction should help, and some of the additions should ensure that Eintracht can have a high-energy squad for 90 minutes on a day-in, day-out basis.  Glasner should have a lot of fun with this group, and it should be a ton of fun to watch.  This team should be about 10-15 goals better than last year, and while losing Martin Hintiregger will change the defense a little, they are actually more athletic in covering space without him.  Playing in 3 campaigns could wear down some of the positions without much help (Kostic, Knauff), the other positions are more than equipped to handle the load.  Glasner's high-pressing system with this group will wear down opponents, and you'll see Eintracht pick up 3 points more often than last year, especially in league play.  One of the major problems last year was the inability to consistently pick up 3 points against the team below them in the table, especially in Deutsche Bank Park.  This year's team will be different.

The Eagles have proven over the years that they are up to the task of playing with Europe's best, especially La Liga and English Premier League opponents. There is enough firepower here to make noise in their Champions League group, and the early rounds of the knockout stage.  Today's win over Magdeburg in the DFB Pokal was convincing, and Eintracht should be looking for another deep run in this competition as well.  This has a chance to be a magical year, as long as the Diva doesn't rear her head too often.

Prediction: 

Eintracht has the talent to be a top 4 team, but with the stress of balancing their first Champions League appearance and making a run in the DFB Pokal, they will finish 8th. They will make it to the round of 16 in both Champion's League and the DFB Pokal.

Key Stretch: Match Days 1-4. Eintracht should pick up 7-9 points from this stretch, and will need it to kick the season off right.  Versus Bayern in Frankfort is a great test to start the season, and Eintracht have 3 very winnable games after that.  The Eagles need to 

Thanks again for reading,

#ForzaSGE

Brian

Europa's beste Mannschaft: „heute ist es mehr als nur ein Lied“

 

When I first started following Eintracht in December of 2013, I didn't know anything about anything. I didn't understand what a relegation battle was, I didn't understand what it meant to stay up, I didn't know the history of this club or any of it's players.  I barely knew anything about soccer! I only knew one thing: the supporters that followed this club were unlike anything I'd ever seen and I wanted to be a part of it.  Along the way, I fell in love with players, coaches, this sport, and this club.  Being an American, we just don't have this kind of experience here (at the Professional level at least).  10 years, and much heartbreak later, Eintracht Frankfurt has found the PERFECT way to bless it's supporters.  The Europa League win was a perfect ending to this ride, and hopefully the mark of great things to come.  I'm hoping this isn't the finish line, Die Adler are marked in their starting blocks.

Europa's Beste Mannschaft:

You better believe we are.  We have been for a while, only now we have some hardware to prove it.  In a hard-fought battle against a good squad, Eintracht went out and earned the title. In Europa League, Eintracht was perfect.  8-5-0, outscoring their opponents 20-13 along the way, and slaying every giant that had the audacity to step in their path.  Fenerbahçe?  Not good enough to beat us.  Real Betis?  So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen goodni-ight.  Barcelona?  Not only did we take you down, but we also now have the paperwork for Camp Nou. You should know by now that Spanish clubs can't beat us.  Tschüß! West Ham?  Knauf and Kamada wrapped that one up real quick.  It's been nice seeing you here, but this is our party.  And finally, Rangers.  Legendary traditional powerhouse.  Much respect, you put up a tremendous fight, but we're here to prove that Europa's beste Mannschaft: „heute ist es mehr als nur ein Lied“.  

As I sat in my apartment in Houston, Tx, screaming at the top of my lungs for every second of that match, pacing back and forth, pointing at the television, and fighting back tears when it was over, I couldn't help but think about what all the fans in Germany were feeling.  Eintracht Internationale, after all, is a global enterprise.  I can't imagine what this means to soo many Mitglieder who have been with this club for generations.  As I sit and watch this celebration on Eintracht.Tv I can kind of grasp the concept, and oh how I wish I was there!  You are what make Eintracht Frankfurt Europa's Beste Mannschaft after all. This team, this club, these fans, from Peter Fischer to the grounds crew, every single bit of it is first class.  We don't need a trophy to say how great we are, but it feels good to get one!  It's a beauty too.

Schwarz-Weiss wie Schnee!

Das ist der S.G.E. indeed.  We don't just have the D.F.B. Pokal, we have (another) Europa Pokal trophy to add to the collection.  Seeing the scenes of the 10's of thousands of Eintracht fans marching to the stadium, and seeing the end of the stadium filled with white shirts (and a few of my friends who made the trip from America to be there) was beautiful.  At kickoff, you could tell this was going to be a fight.  Rangers is a physically tuff, strong team, and they play with the pride of a powerhouse club.  They wanted it just as bad as we did and they didn't lay down.  Eintracht completely dominated the run of play for the first 30 minutes of play.  Firing 10 shots (3 on target) to Rangers 2.  It seemed that not even a boot to the head was going to stop them (how was this not at least a Yellow Card by the way?????). Eintracht was punishing Rangers on the counter, they were hitting them with combo play in the midfield, and they were ending almost every possession with a shot.  11 minutes in when Toure found Daichi Kamada behind Rangers' backline, the first serious threat appeared.  Daichi couldn't get the ball back to his right foot, but Djibril Sow managed to find the rebound and fired a good one to the top corner of the back post which Allan McGregor (as he was most of the night) was on top of.  Knauff (19:29), N'Dicka off an errant shot by Lindstrøm (20:07), and Sow again less than a minute later (20:53) all had clean looks to put the Eagles in front. Filip Kostic blasted a deflection just over the goal (29:46) and minutes later snatched a terrible Rangers pass off his chest and raced down the left touchline to fire a patented far post bender that just went just wide.  Over the first 45 minutes of play, Eintracht was by far the most dangerous team.  Rangers threatened seriously only once when Joe Aribo found a pocket of space in front of the 18 and blasted a left-footer about 3 feet wide of the goal.  You had a feeling it was just a matter of time.

Eintracht vom Main, nur du sollst heute siegen:

Even when Rangers capitalized on an untimely Tuta injury to sneak one past Kevin Trapp (56:19) I never felt we were losing.  Sow and Rode were dominating the midfield, and we were killing them on the counter.  We were going to find a way through.  You could see the mood of the players change after Aribo found the back of the net, but the team didn't look disparaged or down, they seemed to look more focused.  The lads immediately came right back. Kostic hit a deep cross to Knauf who stuck a beautiful ball to Lindstrøm in the middle of the box.  Lindstrøm hit a laser that found the stomach of Calvin Bassey right in front of the net (58:39).  Kamada had the best chance of the game (66:22) but he floated the shot on top of McGregor's net after he rushed a shot with time and space.  The chance was set up by tremendous pressure by Rafael Borré, who rushed Connor Goldsten after a back pass and a poor touch.  Borré forced a bad pass, which Rode broke and made an amazing play on.  In one motion, he slid in front of John Lundstram (who was breaking back to the ball), stretched out his right foot and flicked the ball to Kamada in the pocket.  Daichi tried to go far post, but McGregor had cut off that angle and left the near post wide open.

Schiess noch ein Tor, dem Gegner ist den Kasten rein:

It didn't take long for Eintracht to finally level the score.  In the biggest game of this club in 40 years, who better to combine for the equalizer than Kostic and Borré.  (68:56) Kostic fired a low cross in a place that only Rafael Borré's right big toe could reach.  Borré bullied his way in between Rangers center-back pairing and just managed to flick it to the near corner.  For these two to make this play, in this game, at this moment was beautifully poetic.  While their work was far from finished, it was the setup for things to come.  

Even though almost an hour of play would come after this, Eintracht needed this moment.  Borré had one last chance to win it (94:50), as he had found his way in behind the Rangers defense and was streaking towards the goal.  You could tell that he just ran out of steam, the defense caught up and managed to knock the right footer out of bounds.  The defense had set in.  Makato Hasabe, Evan N'Dicka, and Almamy Toure were almost unbreakable.  Almost.....with one exception.  117 minutes, 33 seconds into the game Super Man made an appearance.  With Rangers seriously threatening on the counter, Kemar Roofe raced behind the defense to track down a ball just before it crossed the end line.  Roofe fired a cross that took a slight deflection off Makato Hasebe's leg and bounced across the front of goal with Ryan Kent racing to it.  Trapp tracked the ball and just managed to flying kick his right leg to block it.  The man who saved Eintracht game after game this year had just made the biggest and most unbelievable save of his career.  The save without a doubt secured the game, and he had two more in his bag.  Trapp secured Ranger's last threat (120:00), and while it didn't seriously challenge him it put a stamp on a game that he was about to win.

In diesem Jahr:

It all came down to penalties.  What was one of the most beautiful penalty battles I've ever seen, Eintracht was flawless.  

Rangers: James Tavernier hits right at Trapp, Trapp dives right.  1:0

Eintracht: Christopher Lenz goes upper right corner, McGregor guesses wrong 1:1

Rangers: Steven Davis perfectly places one in the top right corner, Trapp guesses wrong, 2:1

Eintracht:Ajdin Hrustic blasts one lower-left corner, McGregor guesses wrong 2:2

Rangers:Scott Arfield crushes one top left corner, Trapp guesses correctly, but still can't stop the shot 3:2

Eintracht:Daichi Kamada equals Arfield, hits the right post on a scorcher, ball gets around McGregor who guessed correctly 3:3

Wasn't it perfect, that the end of this season, and the end of this Pokal, ended in the hands of Kostić, Borré, and Trapp?  The game was about to turn, and two players secured their fate as Eintracht legends, one opened his page.

Rangers:Aaron Ramsey slow runs up to the ball.  Kevin Trapp leans to his right.  Ramsey hits one right to Kevin Trapp's spot, guessing he's diving out of the way.  Trapp holds his ground, kicks out his left foot and knocks it away. 3:3

Eintracht:Filip Kostić goes lower right corner.  McGregor guesses correctly, but Kostic places it perfectly and puts enough on it the keeper has no chance.  3:4

Rangers:Kemar Roofe goes low left.  Trapp guesses correctly again, but Roofe blasted it and Trapp couldn't get to it. (4:4)

Eintracht:Rafael Borré goes upper left, McGregor guesses correctly again.  Rafael put it just high enough McGregor couldn't get it. (4:5) Good guys win.  GOOD GUYS WIN.

Final thoughts:

Players come, and players go, but Eintracht remains:  

The fondest and most heartfelt goodbyes to Stefan Illsanker, Danny da Costa, and Aymen Barkok.  May your next post find you the most success.  Danny da Costa has been one of my favorite Eagles, and I'm sad to see him go.  

This is going to be the best offseason:

Not only is all of Eintracht Internationale celebrating like we are Martin Hinteregger, we have some young, exciting players already on their way.  Let's hope we can keep the band together for this Champion's League run, and add a few more pieces to them.

Eintracht Internationale, this is but a step.  Dare to dream BIG:

You guys and this club have earned it.  One day in my lifetime, we will take down Bayern München and hoist the Meisterschale.  One day, we will look back in remembrance of this Europa Pokal, as we lift a Champions League trophy.  I don't know when, but it's going to happen.  Eintracht aus Frankfurt,du schaffst es wieder, Deutscher Meister zu sein.  

Bis zum nächsten Mal:

Next year is bringing much change for me, and hopefully a lot more time for writing this blog that I love soo much.  Thank you to everyone who reads.  It's crazy for me anyone reads this at all.  Love you guys, and love this team.  EUROPA'S BESTE MANNSCHAFT S.G.E.

Forza S.G.E.

Brian