Break for the captain.
Ironically, Sebastian Rode is not there for the game against Bayern.
The leader of Eintracht complains about muscular problems between the stomach and the ribs, which make it impossible for him to help against the soccer champions this Saturday in the evening's top game (6.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky).
Rode would have been only too happy to do this against his former club.
Because as in the first half of the season, when Eintracht won in Munich two days after the Europa League game in Antwerp, coach Oliver Glasner has issued the same slogan again.
"We want to win."
Ralph Weitbrecht
sports editor.
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Three words, one message: Eintracht wants to do it again.
She wants to catch another "cream day", which is essential for Glasner to annoy Bayern decisively.
"We know that the last few games weren't exactly the best," said the Austrian football coach on Thursday.
"I also addressed that critically, clearly and unequivocally." Has his team internalized the message and, after the recent defeats against Wolfsburg and Cologne, actually managed to win a Bundesliga game on Saturday evening after fifteen unsuccessful attempts?
The 0:1 in Cologne, which came about late, also hurt the coach.
Glasner then turned his back on Frankfurt for two days and went to his family.
"I'm someone who is very hard on himself," he said of the visit to Austria.
"What can I do better in this situation?" Glasner asked himself and said that his wife had told him: "You don't speak at all."
Of course, the series of defeats didn't leave Glasner speechless.
But the sporting discrepancy between project and completion has already gotten on his mind.
But the 47-year-old coach does not want to look back in anger.
"What's over is over," he said.
"It's not just about the games.
It's my motto in life."
“A certain looseness is back”
In the training sessions completed so far in the current working week, Glasner claims to have noticed that his players “have a certain looseness again.
We didn't hit our heads.” Nevertheless, there was an incident through no fault of our own that could have consequences for Saturday.
Daichi Kamada's knee hit the post while trying to straddle a ball in play before crossing the line.
The Japanese couldn't train on Thursday.
Glasner put a question mark over his participation against Bayern.
It's not a new situation.
If one fails, another plays.
A number of professionals are sitting on the Eintracht bench, eagerly awaiting their chance.
Ajdin Hrustic, for example.
The Australian with Bosnian-Romanian roots has not been able to show the performances he is capable of for a longer period of time since his magnificent performance in Stuttgart.
His two goals scored at VfB didn't catapult him into the starting XI.
Should Kamada really fail for the game against Bayern, Hrustic would probably be the first choice to fill his offensive creative position.
He definitely deserved it - if only to show whether he is able to perform well over a longer period of time.
Motivate, encourage, boost self-confidence: On Thursday, Glasner spoke of a package of measures with which he is currently trying to get his team back on track.
He named Jesper Lindström as an example.
The player "who is our most conspicuous and agile offensive player this spring".
The crux: "He doesn't have a scorer point yet." Glasner's strategy for the upcoming game against Bayern and the tests that follow: "I can't blame Jesper.
If he keeps going, he will be rewarded.”
Reward against the industry leader - that's what they all want at Eintracht.
Knowing full well that the values have shifted since Thursday at the latest.
When the Eintracht coach was asked about Russia and Ukraine, it was quiet in the catacombs of the Frankfurt Arena for a short time.
"A difficult question." Then Glasner talked about Eintracht material manager Igor Simonov.
“Igor comes from eastern Ukraine.
He has family there.
His brothers are afraid that they will be drafted to the front.
On the other hand, everything else is a child's birthday."
Igor Simonov, who has been a permanent and respected member of the Frankfurt licensed players department for twelve years, loves his country.
From 1979 to 1985 he played for Shakhtar Donetsk, 130 times in the first division, 230 times in the second division.
This Saturday, as usual, he will take care of the equipment of the players together with Franco Lionti in a first-class manner.
He is looking forward to meeting Bayern.
Much more to other things.