LOOK AHEAD: Eintracht Frankfurt

https://www.vfl-bochum.de/en/news/overview/pro/look-ahead-eintracht-frankfurt/

Bochum/Frankfurt, 22.10.2021

A three-game-week lies ahead of us, and it starts with our match against Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend. On Sunday evening, the team from the state of Hesse are going to visit us for the first time since 2013. Not everything is going a smoothly as expected with our upcoming opponents, and the new manager Oliver Glasner’s team has already had its ups and downs this season.

THE TEAM

Eintracht Frankfurt underwent some profound changes this summer – especially at the functional level since the successful duo Bobic/Hütter left the club. 

Squad-wise, the loss of top striker Andrè Silva certainly hurt the most. The Colombian Rafael Borrè (River Plate) was signed as a replacement, and the Dutchman Sam Lammers (Atalanta) also joined the squad this summer. The newcomers Jens-Petter Hauge (AC Milan) and Jesper Lindström (Brøndby) also are attacking specialists. 

Nevertheless, the transfer phase was particularly marked by two players who are still in the Frankfurt squad but would have liked to change that fact. Filip Kostic and Amin Younes wanted to force their departures, but ultimately had to stay in Frankfurt. While Younes no longer plays a role, Kostic shines as Eintracht's top scorer after his reprieve.

THE MANAGER

As mentioned above, the team still struggles to get on track under their new manager Oliver Glasner. One win, five draws and two defeats are the record from eight match days so far. “It’s our job, it’s my job to find solutions,” the manager, who joined Frankfurt at the beginning of this season, explained recently. In terms of coordination, he and his team are still “in the middle of things”. After two years at VfL Wolfsburg, topped off by a place in the UEFA Champions League, the Austrian moved to Frankfurt in the summer. Before that, the 47-year-old worked for several clubs in his home country – amongst others as sports coordinator and co-coach at RB Salzburg and head coach at LASK, with whom he won the Division 2 Championship in 2017.

THE RECORD

Historically, Eintracht are VfL's favourite opponents in the Bundesliga, as they haven’t gained more points against any other team. They have won a whopping 23 matches against the Frankfurt team – 18 of them at home at the Castroper Straße. The best signs for the clash at the end of the match day nine. 

The last victory against the Hessians came on the second-last match day of the 2008/09 campaign, when Vahid Hashemian and Diego Klimowicz scored the three points that were so important for Bochum's eventual relegation. 

The last direct encounter between the two teams was in the DFB Pokal. In the 2013/14 season, we travelled to Hessen as a 2. Bundesliga team, and Patrick Fabian and Co. were beaten 2-0 in the second round after goals from former VfL player Takashi Inui and Aigner.