The upcoming fixture leads us to our direct league rivals! On Sunday VfL will be playing away against Europa League competitors Eintracht Frankfurt. The team from the river Main was able to pick up courage during the season and has now a fair chance to reach the Europa League quarter finals. But in the league, they need to get things going in order to qualify for an international tournament.
THE TEAM
Europa League and Bundesliga. Two different competitions – two different faces. The side from Hessia seems to feel quite comfortable when it comes to European football, delivering the one or other magical night. On the weekends it’s Bundesliga time – and it has been rather an up and down experience for Frankfurt so far. They had a tough start into the season, then went up to the sixth spot, where the team of head coach Glasner finished the first half of the campaign. But Eintracht even lost five out of the eight matches of the second half of the season until now. There was a massive change in the last summer, not only on the coaching bench, but that also needs some time. Top scorer André Silva joined Leipzig, his successor Rafael Borré needed a couple of months to get used to the new league. Meanwhile the Colombian has scored seven goals – Eintracht’s best. Many young players have gained centre stage. Evan Ndicka, Tuta, Jens-Petter Hauge or Jesper Lindström are all just 22 years old, Ansgar Knauff, who joined from Dortmund this winter is even two years younger. Together with experienced players like Kevin Trapp, Sebastian Rode, Filip Kostic and of course Makoto Hasebe they build the basic framwork of a remarkable squad.
THE HEAD COACH
Oliver Glasner took over last summer as new Eintracht head coach. After two years in Wolfsburg, crowned by the UEFA Champions League qualification, the Austrian moved on to the Main metropolis. Previously the 47-year-old was responsible for several clubs in his home country – among others as a sports coordinator and assistant coach for RB Salzburg or head coach at LASK, where he won the 2nd divison championship in 2017. Glasnar is famous for his clear statements, both internally as well as in interviews with media representatives. Quite fun to listen to. Such as his statements on Frankfurt’s upcoming opponent: “VfL Bochum have been playing a brilliant season. No matter if Holtmann, Blum, Antwi-Adjej or Asano – they have great forwards. Moreover, they have hard-running midfielders. We really respect them.“
THE RECORD
The prove came in the first leg game at the end of last October: from a historical point of view Eintracht are VfL’s favourite opposing side, because Bochum haven’t scored more points against any other team. In the meantime, they count 24 victories, but 19 of them at home. In the recent 2-0 win Danny Blum scored the lead goal in a very early stage of the match, while Sebastian Polter sealed the deal seconds before the final whistle in additional time. Bochum’s last success in the Main metropolis goes back to 2007, when VfL won 3-0 after a brace by Epalle and another goal by Gekas.
