The dream destination was within reach.

When Eintracht defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in a furious football match on matchday 27, the lead over the eventual cup winners was seven points.

Frankfurt will soon be in the Champions League - the path seemed to be mapped out.

Nothing will come of it.

Ralf Weitbrecht

Sports editor.

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    And now also the debacle with the relegated. It was 3: 4 in the end for coach Adi Hütter's team. It was an embarrassing idea. For the courageous FC Schalke 04 it was only the third victory in this Bundesliga season, which was so rich in bankruptcies and mishaps, one round before the end of the day. Sebastian Rode was the first to speak plain text after the low blow "on" Schalke and let his frustration run free. "The entire team including the coach failed today," said the Frankfurt midfielder. “There's no excuse for it either. We had the unique chance to get into the Champions League. Now it's as good as over. "

    The game's chronology speaks volumes.

    1: 0, 1: 1, 1: 2, 2: 2, 3: 2, 4: 2, 4: 3.

    After the one-time lead at the beginning of the second half by Evan Ndicka, who was helped by Salif Sané from Schalke, Eintracht had all the trumps in hand to make the minimum goal of an away win perfect.

    But blatant defensive weaknesses in the exposed Frankfurt defensive let the Schalke spin at will in just twelve minutes and decisively pull away through the goals of Blendi Idrizi, Florian Flick and Matthew Hoppe.

    "Were open like a barn door"

    "We were open like a barn door," said the battered and helpless-looking Eintracht coach Hütter, using a well-known football phrase. In general: When looking for reasons for the crash of Eintracht, the departing Frankfurt coach lacked format and clarity. "Sometimes we played outstanding football, and in the end we will hand Eintracht Frankfurt in fifth place," said the 51-year-old Austrian, who will be looking for happiness in Mönchengladbach's Borussia-Park from summer onwards. "We can be disappointed, but I am very proud of what the team has played all year," said Hütter, trying to distract him from the current problems of his downed team.

    Since then it has been certain that Hütter will change his club jacket, Eintracht has been going downhill. The 3: 4 at Schalke is already the third defeat in the fifth game after the announcement. The once proud lead of seven points - long gone. Rode made it clear that there is a connection, "and now we have it in black and white".

    After the Schalke debacle, Hütter took a different strategy and instead said: "After January 12, when we were eliminated in the cup against Bayer Leverkusen, I went to the team the next day and said that we were now the champions Attack League Seats.

    Nobody would have given us the slightest bit of confidence that we could achieve that.

    We then worked our way up with incredibly great games.

    Maybe it was good to set the goal so high.

    Almost unrealistic, because we were ninth at the time. "

    Hütter denied his team a bit of quality, because "the fact that we have now stumbled a little has to do with the competition on the one hand, and on the other hand we have of course already played a very high level."

    In the game against Schalke there was nothing to be seen of a high level. The only one who stood out from a weak and unsuccessful team was striker André Silva. He scored his number 26 and 27 goals this season, overtaking the previous Frankfurt Bundesliga record goal scorer Bernd Hölzenbein, who shone with 26 goals in the 1976/77 season.