Half of the preparation is over. And a picture of the big picture, which Eintracht is supposed to give in the 2021/2022 season, is beginning to be discernible. Now that the first three weeks of warm-up have been completed and there are still 21 days left before the team is challenged with the difficult cup game in Mannheim for the first time under competitive game conditions, the basic work enters its decisive phase: The EM drivers are returning from vacation, they will assert their claims - and the competition for the free places will once again gain decisive quality.
For the time being, Oliver Glasner has thirty men at his disposal who require his attention. Too much to be able to control the stress for each individual in the long run in such a way that nobody misses out during the units. Sports director Markus Krösche is called upon to slim down the squad for reasons of economy, whereby it makes sense to either delegate to the NLZ or loan it to a lower-class club for a novice like Nils Stendera, who is already struggling to keep up to offer him a playing surface on which his talent can develop.
In the case of Steven Zuber, Eintracht should also consider carefully whether they want to keep him busy. With all his efforts, the Swiss cannot ignore Filip Kostic, who makes no move that he might not like it with Eintracht and that he really wants to seek his luck in southern Europe. And with newcomer Jesper Lindström, returnees Rodrigo Zalazar and the versatile Ajdin Hrustic, Glasner has three options in combination (which Adi Hütter did not have) with which the Frankfurters both in the 4-4-2 system and with a 3-5- 1-1 are set up flexibly.
The third Austrian Eintracht coach in a row, who also learned the tools of the trade for the job at RB in Salzburg, approaches things with determination. Glasner is a friend of clear words, looks for opportunities for one-to-one conversations in every exercise unit and sees himself as a development worker who shows the young people on the pitch. He doesn't have to stir up enthusiasm, because passion and commitment to achieve something together are there. If the plan works, as in phases during the test against Sandhausen, sooner or later the opponent will have the queasy feeling that it is extremely uncomfortable to have to play against this newly formed Eintracht. With and without a ball.
In the previous round, VfL Wolfsburg demonstrated par excellence what Glasner football can look like in its perfect form - to the chagrin of Eintracht. At the works club, he needed little start-up time to bring the potential to the fore. That also earned him recognition, which is accompanied by a great deal of trust among the Frankfurters. So far there is nothing to suggest that it is inappropriate.