Frankfurter Eintracht is said to be unrecognizable this Thursday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Europa League and on RTL) in the second Europa League home game of this season against Olympiacos Piraeus.

“We have to show a different face” - that's what striker Gonçalo Paciência calls for and means a much better presentation than the mauve 1: 2 at home in the Bundesliga against Hertha BSC.

The audience in the World Cup arena - 35,000 spectators are expected for the European Cup evening - will look carefully to see whether Eintracht succeeds in presenting itself from a different, thrilling side this time.

Jörg Daniels

Editor in the sports department

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Courageous, determined, strong in combat and assertiveness. And not as pomadic and insecure as it was against Berlin. “It was really bad,” said midfielder Djibril Sow at the press conference on Wednesday: “We asked ourselves whether we gave everything against Berlin. That was not the case."

Above all, coach Oliver Glasner is now under pressure.

The 47-year-old Austrian has to put together a competitive team that can get used to it without him constantly changing the basic order.

There has to be continuity when making up the starting XI.

First division experienced players like Daichi Kamada, who proved his ability with five goals and 15 assists in the past season, should feel the trust of the coach again.

“He's a very important player for us.

Daichi has already played the most minutes and will continue to get a lot.

But he didn't always make the freshest impression, ”said Glasner, explaining the past role of substitute player for the Japanese.

Sow feels the pressure, Rode returns

Glasner had recently preferred Jens Petter Hauge. The Norwegian, however, was often unable to justify his consideration. This also applies to his team-mates Sam Lammers and Jesper Lindström, who are also aggressively oriented and who were far from living up to Frankfurt's demands. If the past few weeks are the benchmark, the level of Frankfurt's new signings is not enough to put the team in danger when attacking. He knows “that the expectations of the new players are very high. And things don't always go perfectly. But to blame the three of them for the defeat against Hertha would be completely wrong. We don't put all the pressure on them, ”said Glasner.

In the past few days, Sow has felt that his teammates, who have come under criticism, are “under pressure.

We established players have to take the pressure off them and put it on our shoulders, ”he said.

Sebastian Rode, who against the Greeks will be part of the squad for the first time after his knee injury, can play an active role.

The captain's starting line-up would come too early for the coach.

The Europa League fills the cash register

With a home win over the 46-time Greek champions, who have been unbeaten in five European away games, the Frankfurt team would be at the top of the table with seven points ahead of Piraeus. “We need a performance at the absolute top level,” says Glasner. Speaking of performance: As things stand, Eintracht will have to strengthen its team in the winter transfer period. They can earn the money they need in the Europa League. So far, Eintracht has taken just under 4.5 million euros: 630,000 euros for the 1-0 win in Antwerp and 210,000 euros for the draw against Istanbul (1: 1).

In addition, a good 3.6 million euros came into the box office through participation in the competition. Four more wins would increase earnings by a good 2.5 million euros. A group victory is rewarded with 1.1 million euros and reaching the round of 16 with 1.2 million euros. As runners-up in the group, in this case the intermediate round would wait for the Hessians first, the Frankfurters would also get a bonus; the premium is 550,000 euros.

As far as viewer income is concerned, Eintracht has not yet been able to expect gross income of two million euros per game due to the corona pandemic. Because that would have meant full capacity utilization of the stadium with 48,000 spectators in the Europa League. However, there were only 25,000 spectators against Fenerbahce Istanbul. 35,000 visitors are expected against Olympiacos. This would add up to a total of more than two million euros. For the Bundesliga home game against Leipzig on October 30th from 6.30 p.m., the Frankfurt Health Department approved 51,500 spectators on Wednesday, which would be equivalent to full capacity. Up to 5000 people who have not been vaccinated or recovered but tested negative will be admitted. “Again, in many respects, this is the next step in the right direction.For the first time and without a predetermined scheme, every season ticket holder now has his place again, ”said CEO Axel Hellmann.