Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt has managed a successful dress rehearsal for the 2021/22 competitive season thanks to its newcomers Christopher Lenz and Rafael Borré.
Coach Oliver Glasner's team won a test match against the French first division club AS Saint-Étienne 2-1 (2-0) on Saturday.
Union commitment Lenz (12th minute) and the new striker Borré (41./Foul penalty) paved the way to a success in front of the returned own audience.
According to the club, Rodrigo Zalazar was absent because he was "in talks with another club".
Timothee Kolodziejczak (74th) scored the connecting goal for the guests.
In the week before the game, there had been controversial discussions about how many fans Eintracht should allow.
Initially, 10,000 spectators were allowed, before an announcement by the Ministry of Social Affairs would reduce it to 5,000.
The reason for this was the increased incidence.
Eintracht threatened to take legal action, the city of Frankfurt sided with the club and finally they agreed on the original contingent of 10,000 spectators.
In the coming week, the Hessians will start the competitive season in the first round of the DFB Cup at Waldhof Mannheim.
"Proud and great joy"
Even before the game, Glasner announced that midfielder Sebastian Rode would be the new captain.
The 30-year-old succeeds David Abraham, who moved in the winter.
"As a real Hessian, with his experience and personality, he is the ideal captain and a strong representative of unity," explained Glasner.
“Wearing the captain's armband fills me with pride and great joy. I would like to thank Oliver Glasner for his trust, "commented Rode, who played for FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund between 2014 and 2019. The Japanese Makoto Hasebe and the Austrian Martin Hinteregger become Rode's deputies.