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Need to speak: The new Eintracht head coach Dino Toppmöller (right) and Mario Götze talk to each other at the official start of training. © dpa
In front of around 1,000 fans, the Bundesliga club started the season, which began with a speech by coach Toppmöller: “Everyone has to go over the point at some point.”
Afterwards, after the first crisp 90 minutes under new coach Dino Toppmöller, each of the 25 Eintracht pros in the smart new jerseys was handed a black edding and had to go to the barrier for the extra shift. Around 1,000 fans who had got hold of a free ticket for the first public training session of the Bundesliga team from the Main (which, by the way, were sold out within a few minutes), waited patiently for their favourites, the old hands Makoto Hasebe and Sebastian Rode made the start, no photo request was refused, no autograph card not autographed.
Dino Toppmöller also almost wrote his fingers sore before he went to the media for a short chat. It goes without saying that you make your way to the fans, you want to be close to the people, not aloof, but touchable. Especially in times when public training is not the norm, but rather the exception. “Contact with the fans is very important to us,” he said. “The symbiosis between fans and team should carry us through the season.” And the 42-year-old also liked the first session. “We’re all happy to be back on the pitch. That was a good start.”
Of course, to speak of a relaxed canter or show training would not do justice to the matter. Toppmöller challenged his boys on the field right from the first day, the training games on a small field were intense, so things really got down to business right away, at the end a few more runs on top of that. There isn’t much time either, in about four weeks the first round of the cup will start at Lok Leipzig (13 August), a week later the Bundesliga will start, Eintracht will expect promoted Darmstadt 98 on Sunday 20 August (5:30 p.m ).
Before the first training session, the sports director said a few words to the team and officially introduced the new coaching team. Coach Toppmöller then opened the season with a keynote speech lasting around ten minutes, in which he directly called for the “willingness to perform” that he likes to propagate. “Everyone has to go over the point sometimes.”
Some of his players took that to heart in the first training session, and they will have to continue to do so in order to have a chance at all with the attentive football coach. Especially the players who didn’t play a role last season or were loaned out, i.e. players like Igor Matanovic (FC St. Pauli), Ragnar Ache (Greuther Fürth), Jerome Onguene (FC Salzburg) or Jens Petter Hauge (KAA Gent ). Many eyes were focused on the returnee Hauge because he came from AC Milan two years ago for a lot of money (more than ten million euros), could never meet expectations and also has a completely messed-up year in Belgium behind him.
The Norwegian, much slimmer and more athletic than twelve months ago, made a very committed (first) impression, even if that shouldn’t be overestimated after 90 minutes. Can the new coach put the 23-year-old back on the right track? “It’s not about whether we can get him on track,” countered Toppmöller. “The players just have to be up for it, they have to want it and show us.” He will watch Hauge closely, “see how he presents himself”. Basically, the offensive power is “a top player” who has “stumbled a little and had a few problems” in the past year or two. Support will be sent to the player. “We will help him, but he has to go through the door alone.”
That also applies to players like Ache or Matanovic. They too would get “a fair chance”. But one thing is clear: “They have to show me that they absolutely want to stay there.” He will put them through their paces by next Wednesday, when the national players will rejoin the team. “Until then, as a coach, you can get a small overview.” One is definitely not there anymore. Ali Akman is no longer allowed to train with the pros and is sent to the U21s.
It is also a fact that the squad still needs to be streamlined considerably. If everyone is on board, that would be almost 40 licensed players. That’s way too many. “This is not a request concert,” says Toppmöller, who admits, however, that the staff still has to be reduced. “It’s better for a coach when the squad isn’t that big. You can work with more valuable content there.”
He receives support from Stefan Buck, who was hired as an additional assistant coach. The 42-year-old comes from FC Bayern’s youth academy and is held in high esteem. “He’s an incredibly good guy,” says the boss about his co. “He exudes authority.” Buck is supposed to take care of the individual development of the players and also “improve permeability”.
Hertha striker Jessic Ngankam will soon be under the wing of the new coaching team. Eintracht had agreed with the 22-year-old for a long time, now also with the Berlin capital club. The U-21 international will receive a long-term contract. The transfer fee should be around four million euros. The deal is basically through and will be communicated promptly. Ngankam no longer traveled to the training camp in Austria with Hertha.
In addition, Eintracht continues to court the 22-year-old left-back Niels Nkounkou from the French second division club Saint-Etienne. France’s U-21 international has convinced those responsible. Toulouse FC winger Fares Chaibi remains a strong candidate. It’s still about the redemption.
But Eintracht would have to sell slowly, Djibril Sow, Rafael Borré or Jesper Lindström, for example, in order to gain economic leeway. The squad is not only large, it also ties up a lot of capital.
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