“Let football be football for ten days” - that is now Oliver Glasner's main task for his players.
"They really deserve it," said the Eintracht coach on Saturday after the 1-0 home win over Mainz 05. But the Frankfurt soccer professionals won't be able to do without football between Christmas and the turn of the year.
This was revealed by the words of Captain Sebastian Rode, who spoke of not being able to “breathe deeply”.
Jörg Daniels
Editor in the sports department
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"We also have our plans during the break, which we work through." Active relaxation is therefore the order of the day.
Glasner's “home program” also includes a “weight specification”.
With the aim that his protégés “don't get cooked quite so well” in private.
For work on the training ground, the professionals have to start again on December 30th, when the first joint session after the vacation is on the program.
The second half of the season starts on Saturday, January 8th, from 6.30 p.m.
Opponent in the World Cup arena is Borussia Dortmund, second in the table.
Big leap forward
The Frankfurt team have done a lot in recent weeks to ensure that this will be a top game. When they were still fifteenth after completing ten rounds, Eintracht and BVB separated an impressive 15 points. Today, after 17 rounds, there are "only" seven left. With six wins from the last seven games, Frankfurt have made a big leap forward. They are only one point away from fourth place in the Champions League.
A breathtaking change of perspective from the point of view of unity. In a fast-paced manner, she played through a process of change that was not to be expected in this form. Because after the happy 2-1 success in Fürth at the beginning of November, Glasner had promised that his team would probably only improve in terms of football in the early months of the new year, because then there would be more time for joint and intensive training. Seen in this way, the Hessians are ahead of their time. In the old year you already managed to present yourself in new splendor with strong performances like the 5: 2 against Leverkusen.
The small steps predicted by the trainer have turned into the big success.
“Our performance has stabilized at a clear level.” Glasner is “just happy when I see the boys play”.
The 1-0 winner against Mainz (35th minute) by Jesper Lindström was particularly worth seeing.
The goal of the day came from a textbook counterattack.
After Makoto Hasebe intercepted a pass from the opponent, Rode shortly afterwards served Frankfurt striker Rafael Borré with a through pass.
The Colombian storming towards the Mainz goal, in turn, played the ball to Dane Lindström, who had no trouble completing the work profitably.
Savior Kevin Trapp
"The 1-0 win was exactly as we had planned: resolve situations with just a few contacts when Mainz is high and we win the ball," said Glasner, and felt great satisfaction with the result "in perfection". Nevertheless, the Austrian struggled with the evaluation of his team's chances. Borré had to feel addressed, who did not manage to overcome Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner after 67 minutes of play.
A few minutes earlier, substitute Ajdin Hrustic had hit the crossbar of the Mainz goal with his soulful long-range shot.
"I would have liked to see us shoot the 2-0 early," said Glasner.
“That way it was exciting again.” Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp achieved his greatest rescue act when he successfully stood in the way of Aarón's shot on goal in the 90th minute.
Glasner seems to have found the ideal solution with the 3-4-2-1 system now favored by Eintracht.
The players feel comfortable and develop further.
Trapp, Hasebe, Martin Hinteregger, Evan Ndicka, Djibril Sow, Filip Kostic and Daichi Kamada form the corset bars of the team.
With their support, the newcomers Kristijan Jakic, Borré and Lindström have also become significantly more powerful.
The 21-year-old Dane Lindström is currently the shooting star: In the past six matches, he has scored four goals and made two assists. Lindström had to "get used to the intensity of the league" at the beginning, "said Glasner," but he has developed well ". Borré also knows how to assert himself better with his abilities. He benefits from the increasingly flat allusions. "We have grown together even more as a team," said winger Timothy Chandler and was enthusiastic about the "great year-end".
Lindström emphasized "the mentality of the team".
No wonder that the personnel changes in the transfer period in January will be limited.
Glasner reported that he had "no wish list" sent to Krösche.
And the sports board referred to the big squad, but also said that the club basically has confidence in every player.
“We'll see if there are any changes.” In the past few weeks, Eintracht has taught the competition to fear.
In the new year, the Frankfurters want to be even more dominant.
"Now we're going to rest a little - and come back even stronger," announced Lindström.
That's a big promise.
In 2021, the Frankfurters were able to score a total of 70 points.
Only Bayern Munich (91) and Dortmund (76) were better.