NSGlasner’s liver will have to reorient itself. In fact, as the Eintracht coach planned, he wanted to use the autumn weeks to give his team, which had slowly crystallized over the summer, a face and deepen operations that only succeeded after the start of the season. In both defense and attack. His motto was “We’re talking about automatism, so we have to play with the same formation from time to time.”
But in the match against 1. FC Köln, not only was the eagerly awaited first victory under Glasner lost again, but the team hospital also got a new addition: Eric Dorm (concussion) and Ivan Ndica (a strain in the knee ligaments) are even missing. Also note two pros who have recently been a part of the Defense Series trunk. So the coach has no choice but to formulate a new plan for the away match on Thursday at FC Antwerp Royal (6.45pm on FAZ Europa League live tape as well as on TVNOW).
Success is imperative
Mastering the task by far will not be as easy as those in charge of the Hessians who were initially extrapolated behind closed doors when the groups in the Europa League were recently drawn out. The Belgians, Glasner got this photo in the meantime from the scouts of Eintracht, a competitor not to be taken lightly.
“Royal Antwerp is not supposed to be an easy opponent. Belgian clubs are doing well in Europe. Brugge showed it in Leipzig in the Champions League, and I also tried it with Wolfsburg at that time with only one point out of two games against Gent,” Glasner said. In order not to lose more ground in Group D after the 1-1 draw against Fenerbahce Istanbul, a (partial) success is almost essential for Frankfurt.
When asked if he would consider changing the system or making up the team for this and given the fact that there was no happy ending in all eight attempts under his supervision, the Austrian showed resilience. Sometimes his personal tactical attempts in his first 100 days turned out to be a mistake, said Glasner. It might be “good” to “move from time to time,” he added.
Go back to the series of three
One option is to go back to the series of three. In this formation, the Frankfurt side fought large parts of the previous round, advancing to the Champions League before the mountain air became too weak for them. With Christopher Lenz also unavailable due to a fiber rupture and Timothy Chandler can’t be at full strength after a head torn, especially when things start to get in the air, it’s worth more than a theoretical consideration with a trio to make up. The last row is in front of goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, who is not very confident at the moment.
This would have the advantage that Makoto Hasebe could also participate again, which was rarely used, but with the safety of the ball, it would go a long way to confirming his terrain. He will make more sense in the middle position as a Libero player between Martin Hinterger and another central defender to be determined in the final training. As for the place as a neighbor of Hinterger, his Austrian compatriot Stefan Ilsanker is the first to offer it. He came on Saturday against Rhinelander as a substitute for a short period.
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More courage, which it is doubtful whether Glasner will be able to muster in the current situation, will be necessary to nominate Tota. The Brazilian – after a poor performance in the cup in Mannheim (0:2) – was left behind. After six matches in the Bundesliga, he has no minute left after he was still considered a discovery in the spring that followed in the footsteps of the great David Abraham with the freshness of action. After the failure at Mannheim, Glasner said he “won’t fall” Tota. Against Dortmund (2:5), Augsburg (0:0) and Bielefeld (1:1) was still on the bench, against Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Cologne (per 1:1) was no longer in the lineup for the tour.
Tota, whose 1.85m on better days represented a reliable size at set-pieces even with Eintracht, would like Daiichi Kamada to have an advantage over the vast majority of teammates: He knows what’s going on at the Bosuil stadium the crew is waiting for. In the 19/20 season, the 22-year-old was loaned to KV Kortrijk. He brought him to 17 games for the club from the West Flanders region. His record against Royal Antwerp: a narrow defeat (0:1) and an unadorned victory (3:1).
Eintracht wouldn’t mind if – in general – they benefited more from this international duel. She almost needs to try some great luck before her next international hiatus. Otherwise, there is a risk that the initial situation and mood will deteriorate even more. “Winning will always benefit you, both in the Europa League table and in terms of our overall position. We will do our best to leave the field as a winner,” Glasner said.
It continues this Sunday in Munich. And it currently takes a lot of imagination to imagine that the Bavarian dock, of all things, could be the catalyst for Frankfurt to start the last quarter of the year.