At the end, the fans were allowed to get up close and personal with their European Cup heroes.

After the successful test match against FC Turin, the Eintracht Frankfurt players accepted the invitation of their supporters to the fan festival at the golf club in Windischgarsten on Friday evening.

A dinner with lots of photos, autographs and talks was the last item on the agenda of the Frankfurt training camp in Austria.

The footballers prepared for the season there for a week.

Trained for two weeks straight

The mood was relaxed thanks to the previous win over the Serie A club.

But not only the 3:1, but the overall impressions of the training weeks in Austria and before that in Frankfurt made Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner satisfied: "It went almost too well and smoothly.

But I prefer it that way than when chaos reigns back and forth.

The team accomplished everything we set out to do.”

The only drop of bitterness Glasner mentioned was that offensive player Ansgar Knauff could not train because of pelvic problems.

However, the coach expects to return to team training on Tuesday.

Then the preparations continue in Frankfurt.

Until then, players and coaches have some free time.

“We've been training for two straight weeks now and the boys have presented themselves superbly.

Now they can put their feet up for two days before we start training again in the heat of the Sahara,” said Glasner after the friendly.

More self-confidence against individual mistakes

Against Turin, his team implemented a lot of what they had previously practiced in Windischgarsten and can now take with them into the competitive game opener against 1. FC Magdeburg in the first round of the DFB Cup on August 1st.

“Turin played like many Italian teams and defended man against man.

But we found good means, with deep runs.

We were very compact defensively," Glasner observed.

There were also three notable goals.

The two newcomers Mario Götze and Lucas Alario drew attention to themselves.

Götze assisted Jesper Lindström to make it 2-0 and Alario scored.

The goal of the day, however, came from Almamy Touré.

"I conquered the ball and saw that I had a lot of space.

Then I just ran.

There were still a few passes, but I decided to shoot,” the defender described his goal from distance.

The history of how the opening goal came about was also the result of good training, said Glasner.

After a throw-in, Rafael Borré shifted play diagonally and the ball got to Almamy Touré, who converted it beautifully.

The defender from Mali has been playing for Eintracht since January 2019.

After initially spending a lot of time on the bench or in the stands, he played an increasingly important role for the Frankfurters last season.

He showed strong performances in the Europa League games, which made him more confident.

The 26-year-old confirmed this in Austria: “That was shown again today with the goal.

The fact that I decided to withdraw is proof that I have gained more self-confidence.” This has also led to a reduction in the number of his individual errors.

“I've been feeling really good for weeks and months.

I was able to participate in the preparation right from the start.

That was good for me.

I hope it continues like this.

Now it's up to me to confirm that achievement,

so that there is no way around me,” said Touré.

The reasons for the defender's new self-confidence can also be found in his head: "I've been working with a mental coach since last season.

It's paying off now.” Even in the phase in which he didn't play that much, it was very valuable.

His contract with Eintracht expires next summer.

He does not answer questions about when a decision about extension or departure will be made: “If the situation arises, I will think about it.

Now it's all about preparing well and getting the season off to a good start.

At some point the time will come to seek dialogue.” It cannot be overlooked that he feels at home in Frankfurt.

Of course, the success of the past season also contributed to this.

But the defender is not satisfied with that.

He still has a lot planned, including for the Supercup on August 10th: “We had a great Europa League season.

We have to take the momentum with us now.

And of course the game against Real Madrid will be a highlight.

Of course we try to win.”