Ready for the big shot: Eintracht Frankfurt with coach Oliver Glasner
Photo: imago/HMB-Media
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Oliver Glasner’s anticipation is almost palpable. “Opening game, Friday evening, in prime time against the reigning German champions – football heart, what more could you ask for!” exclaimed the Frankfurt coach. That concord to start the 60th Bundesliga season playing against Bayern Munich in their own arena, then playing the Supercup against Real Madrid on Wednesday is a “cool start,” said the Austrian. Just don’t let anyone tell him that he’s looking forward to this game: “You have to be careful when you feel a fever that you don’t get locked away straight away.” Laughter in the press room. Hardly anyone gets as much of the club, city and environment as the 47-year-old, who often immerses himself in the life of the Main metropolis.
Ready for the big shot: Eintracht Frankfurt with coach Oliver Glasner Photo: imago/HMB-Media
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Many fans have a selfie with the football teacher who made so many people happy with the Europa League triumph from a cider bar, from the Opernplatz festival or from the training ground. For many, he is almost a Hessian boy, who will probably soon say “Guude” as a greeting. Oliver Glasner tackles the challenge against the record champions with “a lot of power and speed”, although Bayern bring with them the world star Sadio Mané, whom he himself trained in Salzburg. “He had just been relegated to the third French division, but he was incredibly talented.”
On the one hand, Sadio Mané’s signing is nice for the Bundesliga, but on the other hand, there is also reason to fear that everything will remain the same with the balance of power. “I think Bayern will be in the lead again throughout the season, but we won’t raise the white flag on Friday.” He will be in the ZDF sports studio the day after. And at his side the national goalkeeper Merle Frohms and national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. He followed their European Championship final “only half in passing”, but of course Glasner did not hide the fact that “a lot has happened in terms of technology, tactics, intensity” in women’s football. When the Eintracht soccer team secured the Champions League qualification against Werder Bremen on the last day of the Bundesliga match, he was there. Niko Arnautis has now extended his contract as coach of the Frankfurt women by two more years until 2026 – the club announced this at the press conference with Oliver Glasner. A deliberate double pass.
Because for the first time in the history of German football, the Bundesliga seasons for men and women start with the same game. Eintracht versus Bayern – that pulls. cross gender. Another Friday evening, again in the Frankfurt city forest, even if it still takes a little time until the start of the women’s Bundesliga on September 16th. The German Football League and the German Football Association have been persuaded by subtle hints from the Eintracht leadership that the double performance is worthwhile. Eintracht wants to be a powerhouse in football for men and women – a sporting role model for equality. Internally, board spokesman Axel Hellmann has recently questioned the fact that the company’s own committees are consistently occupied by men, and that too should change.
A sold-out arena is certainly not to be expected in six weeks, the average attendance in the stadiums is still below the 1000 mark, more must be done in women’s football, also with the total turnover of the Bundesliga (15 million euros in the 2020/2021 season) . On average, every women’s Bundesliga club currently spends almost twice as much money as it earns. Whereby it is said at Eintracht that their players do not earn as much as in Munich and Wolfsburg. In addition, it would even be possible to put together sponsorship packages specifically for women’s football. Glasner thinks it’s good “that it’s on the rise.” He only has one concern for the weekend: »that I can still keep up with goal wall shooting«.
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