How Frankfurt approaches the start of the Europa League

Dino Toppmöller was mysterious before Eintracht Frankfurt returned to the Europa League. The coach of the Bundesliga football club will use a special campaign to further fuel the already great euphoria among the Hessians. “We will add some extra motivation,” announced Toppmöller before the opening match against Viktoria Pilsen on Thursday (9 p.m./RTL and RTL+). However, the 43-year-old did not reveal what exactly is planned.

A good 28 months after the triumph in Seville, Eintracht is back in the Europa League – and the team, coach and fans have goosebumps. “It is a special competition for Eintracht Frankfurt,” said Toppmöller. “For everyone who experienced it, it was a career highlight. Everyone who followed it from the outside was swept away by the euphoria that the club sparked back then. That is exactly what we want to achieve again.”

Desire to enjoy football “internationally”

Of course, he doesn’t know whether it will be enough to win the title again in the end.”But we want to try and do as well as possible“, confirmed Toppmöller. To achieve this, they need an opening win against the third-placed Czech Republic. “You can see that everyone is really keen on football.” “We now want to make the most of it internationally,” said the Eintracht coach.

Midfielder Ansgar Knauff is one of only five professionals in the current Hesse squad who were part of the European triumph in the 2021/22 season, crowned by the final victory against Glasgow Rangers. “Players, fans, the environment – everyone is looking forward to the Europa League.” “I hope that we will experience another special night,” said Knauff.

The memories of the second European Cup triumph after 1980 should inspire the newly formed team, after three Bundesliga victories in a row, as they prepare for the start of the Europa League league phase. “We want to stay hungry and gain even more confidence with a good start,” said Toppmöller. After Eintracht were eliminated in the intermediate round of the Conference League last time, things should go better this time. “We want to do much better than last season,” said Robin Koch.

Defence chief Koch is at risk of being out

However, the defense chief is in danger of being a mere spectator at the planned home game against Pilsen, like the injured Kevin Trapp and Oscar Højlund, as well as Mario Götze, who is not yet an option after an infection. “Robin has a slight problem with his hip. “There is a big question mark with him,” reported Toppmöller.

The impending loss of the 28-year-old national player does not dampen the anticipation, however. “We are extremely excited about an exciting competition with attractive opponents,” said sporting director Markus Krösche. The new format does not change that. Instead of a group phase, there is a league table with all 36 teams, as in the Champions League.

After eight games – four at home and four away – the best eight teams reach the round of 16, for which the teams from 9th to 24th place can also qualify in a playoff round. The Frankfurt team wants to avoid this detour. “We want to go straight to the round of 16. That is the first interim goal. “It is important that we lay the foundation for this in the next few weeks,” said Krösche.

After all, after a long dry spell, Eintracht is now one of the regulars in Europe and one of the favorites for the title. Since 2018, the Hessians have always played in an international competition with one exception (2020/21). This also pays off financially. The club receives around 4.3 million euros just for participating in the Europa League. Many wins would fill the account even further.

Sportsbuzzer