Maik Franz, is FC Magdeburg the most complicated opponent that Eintracht could face in the first round of the cup?

Marc Heinrich

sports editor.

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You could say that.

It is an absolutely thankless lot for Eintracht.

In Magdeburg everyone is riding a big wave of euphoria.

Coach Christian Titz initiated a great development over a year ago.

The team is totally in flow.

They have completely internalized the courageous football that Titz propagates and they dare to do anything.

Magdeburg is currently on cloud nine, also because of the good start to the season in the second Bundesliga.

Eintracht was on cloud nine in May when they were rewarded with the title for their great performances in the Europa League.

I'm curious to see who gets down to earth faster.

After your time at Eintracht, you were still under contract with Hertha BSC, then had to end your active career at the young age of 33 as a sports invalid and were then part of the Magdeburg management.

What characterizes the team that most recently became champions of the third division?

They show an incredible drive to put pressure on the opponent early on and push up.

The desire to attack the defense again and again is constantly noticeable.

In Amara Condé they have a captain who comes from the youth team at VfL Wolfsburg and who clearly leads the team.

Baris Atik is a goalscorer who was an exceptional player in the third division and was hailed as king, having 40 assists in goals last season.

Key players are also Ito Tatsuya and Jason Ceka, both small, agile and technically strong forwards.

I was a defender myself and I know how complicated it is to hold your own against such a bustling and tricky attacker.

And Eintracht should definitely keep an eye on Andreas Müller: the boy is a diamond in the rough.

He just turned 22 recently, but I've been saying for a long time

he is physically and mentally as advanced as an experienced 30-year-old.

Andi is extraordinarily calm and clever on the ball. I'm sure he'll make it into the Bundesliga.

In the 2016/2017 season, this cup duel also took place under the same sign, at that time the Frankfurt team only prevailed on penalties.

Last year they were promptly eliminated at Glasner's debut in Mannheim.

Is there a risk of embarrassment for Eintracht again?

There is no question that the quality of their team is much higher.

It was already great and has now been reinforced again.

But I'm happy to pay every euro into the phrase pig when I say: The cup has its own laws.

Nobody can hear this saying anymore, but there is a lot of truth in it.

I'm sure that some Eintracht players didn't pay as much attention to Magdeburg as they would if it was against Bayern or Dortmund.

It is also their first competitive game after the long break.

It takes place away to a full stadium.

It's going to be very warm and everyone at the SCM will be highly motivated.

In a few weeks, Eintracht would clearly be the favorites.

But now it's different.

Six years ago there were massive riots during the Eintracht cup game in Magdeburg.

Is something similar to be feared this Monday (8.46 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the DFB Cup, on ARD and on Sky)?

It will be a highlight game.

It's a meeting between two clubs that have fantastic fan camps that support their team in an absolutely peaceful manner and with phenomenal passion.

But we also know that on both sides there are always a few contemporaries who come to the fore who tick differently and who are out to start arguments and incite violence.

The security forces in the stadium and the police are certainly prepared for this.

At the beginning of July, unsightly scenes could be seen in Magdeburg when there was a test match with Union Berlin in preparation: there was a lot of trouble around it.

Supporters of the SCM and Union beat each other up in the Rotehorn city park.

I really hope that this doesn't happen again in the game against Eintracht.