1. FC Union between Eta vortex and danger of relegation: “Loui has put his finger in the wound”

After the end of training, he briefly and succinctly commented on the transfer rumor in a media round. “I have an ongoing contract,” Khedira said, remaining somewhat vague with his answer. “The fans don’t have to worry about me losing focus on what’s important.”

It’s not that easy these days. Since Marie-Louise Eta was promoted to head coach a week ago, there has been a huge buzz around the club. Compared to the media events in the past few days, the crowds at training on Monday were limited. But that had more to do with the poor weather than with a waning interest in Eta.

On Saturday she was the center of attention and became the first female head coach to coach a game in the men’s Bundesliga. On their debut, Union lost 1:2 to VfL Wolfsburg despite clearly superior chances. “In the end it’s about pushing the ball over the line. Not about how high the expected goals value is or how much possession you have,” said Khedira.

The game analysis was therefore critical. “Loui put his finger in the wound and clearly showed what we can do better and what we have already done better,” said Union’s vice-captain. He did not want to go into more detail about the content of the analysis.

Eta eliminates doubts immediately

Khedira worked with Eta two and a half years ago when she was assistant coach to Marco Grote and Nenad Bjelica after her separation from Urs Fischer. At that time there were initial doubts as to whether this constellation would work. But she eliminated this in the first training session with the quality of her content and her empathy. He is also fully convinced of Eta in his new role.

“As a head coach, she may have to say a word or two more, be more critical, make decisions,” said Khedira. “But she did very well in the first week. She sought communication without talking too much and put the focus on what we like to do most: playing football.”

The situation has worsened slightly due to the defeat against the second-to-last team from Wolfsburg, but it is still not dramatic. With four match days to go, the lead over the relegation place is six points. “Of course the danger is still there. We have a good starting position and if we continue to work in this way, I am convinced that we will get over the finish line,” said Khedira.

A positive result on Friday evening (8.30 p.m.) at Rasenballsport Leipzig would help a lot in this mission. In the first half of the season, Union defeated the Saxons 3-1 in the An der Alten Försterei stadium. Last season, the Köpenickers at least stole a point from Leipzig with a 0-0 draw. “That can give us courage,” said Khedira, but warned: “Leipzig is a very good team. We have to work with maximum compactness in order to annoy them again.”