Thomas Kösling is not worried about the idea, he says, but the head coach considers it a realistic option that Frankfurt Galaxy, European football champions of the previous season, could even go completely empty-handed this year.

On the other hand, he also says: "If we win our group, we'll definitely be one of the biggest contenders for the title."

Jan Erhardt

sports editor.

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How does that fit together?

The European League of Football (ELF), in which the newly formed Galaxy competed since last season, has grown in both breadth and depth as it enters its second year.

Four new teams were added, with the revived franchise Rhein Fire, which, like Frankfurt Galaxy years ago, attracted tens of thousands to the stadiums in NFL Europe, another from Germany.

To do this, the ELF expanded to Turkey, where the Istanbul Rams are based, and to Austria.

"We want to compete with the best"

With the Vienna Vikings from Vienna and the Raiders Tirol from Innsbruck, two teams joined the young league that have long been established in European football and should be competitive from day one.

Exactly these two teams were now put in front of the Frankfurters in a redistribution of the so-called conferences, a kind of regional groups.

Galaxy coach Kösling speaks of a "death group" that is completed by Stuttgart Surge alongside Frankfurt, Vienna and Innsbruck.

"Innsbruck and Vienna will want to play for the title in their first season and will certainly be able to do so," says Kösling in an interview with the FAZ Ambition.” Frankfurt should therefore face a season of extremes, with games at eye level against the league newcomers from Austria and further games against last year's ELF establishment, which (with the exception of the Istanbul Rams and Rhein Fire) should also have improved in the second year .

"The franchises started training much earlier and are therefore much further along than at this point in the previous year," says league boss Patrick Esume, and Kösling is also certain: "The basic level is higher than in the premiere season, the league has moved closer together." But he doesn't want to complain about it, on the contrary: "That's exactly what we want: A league in which everyone can beat everyone and the outcome of each new season is uncertain.

We want to compete with the best.”

It remains to be seen whether this second ELF season, which begins for Frankfurt with a home game against Rhein Fire this Sunday (3 p.m. at ProSieben Maxx), will actually be as balanced as the Frankfurt head coach claims.

Although the experiences of the first season are now benefiting the teams, some of which were newly founded and often newly assembled, they are more attuned and know the league and their everyday life better, but individual franchises stand out at least in terms of personnel.

In addition to Vienna and Innsbruck, the Frankfurt final opponents from the first ELF season, the Hamburg Sea Devils, should also be decisive for the classification, and the Leipzig Kings have also upgraded after missing the play-offs last autumn.

And Frankfurt?

With the exception of the departure of wide receiver Anthony Mahoungou and a few other players, he kept his core squad almost completely together.

Especially in the important position of the playmaker, Galaxy ensured important consistency;

With the American Jakeb Sullivan, the quarterback, who was honored as the most valuable player in last year's final, returns to the Main for another season.

And the already strong defensive line, which has become the figurehead of Frankfurt football under Kösling's direction, is getting high-quality additions with Nael Wasri and Louis Achaintre from Berlin Thunder.

Not least because of this, the Galaxy coach should face the difficult tasks that lie ahead for him and his players with the same composure that is usually his own.

Nonetheless, Kösling felt it was "naïve" to assume that Frankfurt would certainly reach the play-offs, which is a prerequisite for defending the ELF title won in Düsseldorf last October at this year's final in Klagenfurt, Austria.

Only the three group winners of the European league, which has grown from eight to twelve teams, qualify for the semi-finals, plus the best runner-up from all three conferences.

Quarterback Sullivan says, "We're going to be the hunted.

But we like that, that's exactly what we want.” Because Frankfurt, Vienna and Innsbruck are likely to take points away from each other due to the balanced balance of power in the group games, it is quite likely that the most successful group runners-up will come from another conference.

Consequently, only winning the group counts for Galaxy, and Kösling also emphasizes this.

Frankfurt wants to lay the foundation for this at the season opener against Rhein Fire.

Galaxy says more than 6,000 tickets have already been sold for the game against the storied franchise, which is being coached in its debut ELF season by former National Football League (NFL) San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula 1000 guest fans are expected in the stadium on Bornheimer Hang.

In general, those responsible hope this year for the greatest possible return to pre-pandemic conditions, impressive backdrops and lively parties before and after the home games.

In this respect, too, Kösling has no worries, after the change of ownership and a partial restructuring of many areas, Frankfurt Galaxy itself has also developed further and has become even more professional.

"A lot," says Kösling, is going in the right direction." However, the expectant head coach does not want to resist one addition: "But it has to be."