Eintracht Frankfurt's second team, which is currently being planned, does not have to laboriously work its way up from the bottom up.

"It would be a joke to settle this team at district league level," says Torsten Becker, Vice President of the Hessian Football Association (HFV).

The entry gate for Eintracht's future Bundesliga reserve is said to be the fifth-class Hessenliga, for which the club applied to the HFV for admission this week.

George Daniels

Editor in the sports department

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From the coming season, Eintracht Frankfurt II wants to compete with teams like Hadamar, Waldgirmes, Neuhof or Dietkirchen from scratch.

The HFV association match committee still has to approve the project, a rejection is considered unlikely and would be a surprise.

The "request" of Eintracht is "sensible, from my point of view it is to be welcomed," says Becker.

Because: "Eintracht has presented a viable concept very clearly."

It was presented by sports director Markus Krösche, which was a top priority for him.

"For our further strategic orientation in the youth sector and as a transition to the professional team, it is important to have a strong foundation," he explained the realignment.

Looking for planning security

The club takes advantage of a new regulation when building a second team.

In September 2021, the association day decided that the association committee could group a lower team of a club in the license leagues (Bundesliga and second division) and the third division into a league at association level when games started.

The group league, the association league and the Hessen league come into question.

Before that, the rules of the game had not allowed ad hoc entry into a higher amateur class.

This also prevented the Frankfurt team, who had withdrawn their former U23s from the regional league in 2014, mainly for economic reasons, from taking a backwards role.

The final decision on the Eintracht matter should be made in February.

"So that Eintracht has planning security," adds Becker.

Patrick Ochs as sport director

Their plans are well advanced and worked out in detail, but have not yet been communicated to the public.

According to the current status, the SC Hessen Dreieich stadium, which is suitable for the regional league, is a possible venue for the "small" Eintracht.

In the event that Frankfurt is admitted to the Hessenliga, Hessen Dreieich apparently wants to withdraw from this division.

The first club team is currently part of the promotion round in the Hessenliga, which will continue playing in mid-March.

If Hessen Dreieich said goodbye to the game at the end of the season, they would probably be the first to be relegated.

Eintracht would be authorized to play.

The ties between Hessen Dreieich and Eintracht were close in the past.

Karl-Heinz Körbel once acted as vice-president of the Hessenliga club, and for a while the team was coached by Rudi Bommer.

Today, former Eintracht professional Patrick Ochs is the sporting director there.

He could play a leading role in the new Frankfurt Premier League reserve in the future.

After the announced retirement of Andreas Möller in the summer of this year, Eintracht also had to fill the post of head of the academy.

Krösche will select a man he trusts for this position.

He was "an absolute supporter" of a second club team, said Möller on Tuesday.

"It hurts my soul when young players don't play a game at the weekend." In the new Eintracht team, "young perspective players from the first team who are not yet part of the regular squad should also gain game and competition practice at the highest possible level ' (Krosche).

In 2014, Eintracht also wanted to save around 800,000 euros by eliminating the U23s.

"It was the right decision at the time," says club president Peter Fischer.

"But topics and requirements change and have to be reassessed regularly."