Frankfurt crisis: Eintracht is now just a crumbled community

EIt may have already been a step forward that the loyal supporters of Eintracht Frankfurt refrained from making excessive expressions of dissatisfaction. And because stadium announcer Daniel Wolf immediately shouted a fiery appeal for morale and cohesion into the microphone after the next defeat against Bayer Leverkusen (1:3), there was no apocalyptic atmosphere in the Waldstadion. Nevertheless, a former fortress of German football has degenerated into a self-service shop. After TSG Hoffenheim and Tottenham Hotspur, the Werkself almost effortlessly secured three points in their third home game within eight days on Saturday.

Sports director Markus Krösche had no choice but to once again point out well-known deficits: “It wasn’t good in the first half, we slept through it a bit, we didn’t get into the duels at all.” The current ensemble no longer satisfies a European Cup contender, even in trace elements. Mario Götze had his best performance when the world champion, who was ineffective in the game, spoke to the conscience of this crumbling community in the mixed zone: “We have to start from scratch and do our basics.”

Perhaps the new coach Albert Riera was well advised to accompany the Slovenian league leaders NK Celje in the top game against Maribor at the weekend. The Spanish former international with the multi-faceted CV didn’t want to start in the Main metropolis until Monday. Did anyone suspect that the Werkself were currently getting a bit too big? The guests waited patiently for the gaps in the porous Frankfurt cover. First Arthur (26th), released by Alejandro Grimaldo with a backheel trick, then Malik Tillmann (33rd), played by Christian Kofane, made the 2-0 half-time lead.

Bayer coach Kasper Hjulmand was pleased with his team’s “high level” in the first half, but they then indulged in strange passivity. Frankfurt’s defense chief Robin Koch woke up the audience again with the follow-up goal (50th), but the fact that Ellyes Skhiri, a leading player who had been playing under form for months, earned a yellow-red card (71st) meant that Eintracht should pull the plug again. “In our best phase, that was a blow to the neck,” said interim coach Dennis Schmitt soberly, who did not provide the desired impetus in a duet with club saint Alexander Meier.

Eintracht Frankfurt loses too often in the same pattern

All four matches for which the team was responsible were lost in a similar manner. Krösche meekly admitted that the plan “didn’t work in terms of results.” The Hessians couldn’t have had a worse January: seven competitive games with five defeats and two draws not only led to the final exit from the Champions League, but also put an international starting place at risk. Leverkusen, sixth in the table, moved eight points away from Frankfurt.

It takes a lot of imagination for the plucked Frankfurters to quickly get back on the rise. Riera will have to put on the garb of a savior. There is also a certain risk involved in his commitment: The 43-year-old, who has a contract until 2028, has the experience of 430 competitive games as an active player in major leagues, but his reputation as a coach is manageable in comparison. “We consciously chose a coach who stands for modern, intensive and offensive football,” said Krösche, who did not want to use the term “turning point”. His unexpected preferred candidate should first bring “principles and structure” to the team. Until the next game on Friday at Union Berlin, it’s about regaining lost self-confidence, said the manager, who has long been under pressure himself.

The creator didn’t want to accept criticism of the lengthy search for a coach: “Albert was still under contract and then things don’t always happen that quickly.” Riera, who also has a Russian passport because of his wife, will introduce himself at the beginning of the week. The fact that the native Mallorcan is said to have a high level of emotionality should help. Krösche also recommended “doing away with the past”. But will it succeed? The new coaching team – Riera brings assistants Pablo Remon Arteta and Lorenzo Dolcetti with him – must figure out how to deal with the insecure Eintracht goalkeeper Kauã Santos. After a bad pass before Aleix Garcia made it 3-1 (90+3), the Brazilian, who had recently made serious mistakes with his foot, had to listen to a lengthy insult from captain Koch, who usually doesn’t indulge in such outbursts of anger. The endless chain of errors in Frankfurt starts at the very end.