DFrom Frankfurt’s point of view, the best sporting action around Easter took place in Dortmund. For Eintracht, who lost once again the day before in Leverkusen, it was literally a stroke of luck that Alfred Gislason made on Easter Sunday in the German Football Museum. The national handball coach, together with the former national soccer player Thomas Hitzlsperger, was responsible for the draw for the two semi-finals in the DFB Cup. And as if he had heard Frankfurt’s wish, the Icelander pulled VfB Stuttgart, the supposedly easiest opponent, out of the lottery wheel. The semifinals, which are not yet exactly scheduled and will be played on May 2nd and 3rd, were complete. The other game is Freiburg versus Leipzig.
Eintracht in the southwest classic in Stuttgart. In a first reaction, Markus Krösche was confident with the last opponent on the intended way to the Berlin Olympic Stadium. “We want to go to the final with all our might,” said the sports director of Eintracht. “It’s our big goal and we’ve already shown this season that we can win in Stuttgart.”
Krösche draws hope from history that it could really be something again with a final appearance in the traditional city of Berlin. “In 2017 and 2018, Eintracht made it to the final away from home.” In 2017, Frankfurt’s football professionals beat Borussia Mönchengladbach on penalties. In 2018, a narrow 1-0 in the Arena at Schalke was enough to get the ticket for Berlin. When the coup in the final against Bayern was successful five years ago, there was a player at the time who also wants to be in the final again in 2023: Makoto Hasebe. From the victorious cup-winning team, the now 39-year-old Japanese is the only current Eintracht professional who was active in 2018 and is still on the ball for Frankfurt.
Frankfurt soccer players have already been in a cup final eight times. It was the respective Eintracht captain who lifted the DFB Cup five times. The dates of the triumphs are well known. 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988 and 2018.
Champions League is far away
The chronic weakness of Eintracht is also well known when it comes to asserting oneself in the core Bundesliga business in Leverkusen. The last success at the Bayer Cross was almost ten years ago. The last eight games have all been lost. And encounter number nine, held on Holy Saturday, also took the expected course. This time it was 1:3 – and again Eintracht ultimately had no chance. Krösche, coach Oliver Glasner and captain Sebastian Rode later complained about individual mistakes and shortcomings that would have made it easy for the Rhinelanders to counter Eintracht. The result: Bayer has passed, the Glasner-Elf is now only seventh in the table.
Reaching for the stars, qualifying again for the Champions League, which is still the goal of those responsible in Frankfurt, is now seven points behind Leipzig a long way away. The way back to Europe via the Berlin detour is more realistic. Year after year, it is the quickest way to secure access authorization for the European Cup and thus for more attention, more spectacle and more money.
Raised the usual frustration in Leverkusen: Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp and his colleagues Tuta (left) and Randal Kolo Muani
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Image: Huebner
Of course, the Eintracht professionals believe that they will not slip further in everyday league life and, on the contrary, will make the leap to Europe. But a lot has to fit for that, and Glasner’s team mustn’t perform like they did in Leverkusen. Rode summed up the future route precisely: “Now it’s time to hope, to fight and to work.” The Frankfurt leader said after the 1: 3, “that we weren’t blatantly inferior”. But inferior, the Frankfurt football professionals were already. Once again they could run out of decisive breath in the final sprint in the league.
This Tuesday, Glasner will be back at work after two Easter days off, which he had given his team. The focus is on preparing for the test on Saturday in the so-called top game against Mönchengladbach. A win there is a must if you don’t want to slip further in the table and also let Borussia slowly catch up. Home game against Gladbach, away in Dortmund, at home against Augsburg: The team may already be looking forward to the cup task in Stuttgart: Everyday life is still full of pitfalls and challenges.