Nafter the derby is before the neighborhood duel. The Eintracht professionals had Sunday and Monday to deal with the 2-2 draw at Darmstadt 98, preparations began on Tuesday for the encounter with Mainz 05 on Friday (8.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on DAZN), the first home game in 2024. The game at Böllenfalltor heated up the minds of many fans and also those of many Eintracht officials. Sports director Markus Krösche spoke in an unusually emotional way shortly after the final whistle in Darmstadt about two points being thrown away.
After a dominant performance over 60 minutes, in which Eintracht completely controlled the promoted team and earned a well-deserved 2-0 lead, the team fell apart. The goal conceded to make it 1:2 by Darmstadt newcomer Justvan caused general uncertainty in Frankfurt. Nothing remained of the structure, the naturalness and the stability that had characterized Eintracht until then. Even Eintracht coach Dino Toppmöller described the 2-2 equalizer by Klarer in added time as “somehow deserved”.
What had happened, how could it have happened? The questions cannot be answered in detail, but there are still a few things to note. Toppmöller lets Eintracht play even more in possession of the ball in the new year than he let them do in the previous round. From his first day in Frankfurt, the new Eintracht coach conveyed his maxim of controlled play building from the back.
Next level at Toppmöller
Better flat short passes than high long shots. But that wasn't a dogma at first. Depending on the game situation, the opponent's style of play and the form of the players on the day, so-called “long balls” were often thrown in in order to minimize the risk of a dangerous loss of the ball in one's own half.
In the new year, Toppmöller took things to the next level because, after months of meticulous training work, he believes his team is now mature enough to keep the ball in their own ranks even under extreme pressure from the opponent. The fruits of long-term development were visible in the 1-0 win in Leipzig and in the first hour in Darmstadt. With their endless ball relays, the Frankfurters paralyzed even the strong pressing specialists from Leipzig for a long time, and for the Darmstadt team Eintracht was initially out of reach.
The advantages of possession football are obvious. You force your opponent into a passive role and put yourself in a superior, dictating position. This brings with it a particularly positive psychological aspect when dangerous attacks are launched while in possession of the ball. This was rarely the case in Leipzig and only occasionally in Darmstadt, but thanks to great effectiveness, Eintracht always took the lead. The 1-0 lead lasted until the final whistle in Leipzig. In Darmstadt, however, a 0-2 defeat against a much weaker opponent was not enough. Why?
Because Eintracht in Leipzig were lucky not to have conceded a goal when RB had few chances and were therefore not in danger of losing their conviction in their tactical concept and their confidence in their own strength.
Individual class is partially missing
In Darmstadt it became clear how vulnerable Eintracht still is, despite all the progress they have made after the excessive practice sessions on ball control under pressure, breaking up the game, passing the ball and letting it “clap” (play it back directly to the passer). No wonder: Frankfurt are supposed to play like Bayern (in the opening game), but they are not Bayern, and they know it.
The last individual class is missing for some Frankfurt professionals. Setbacks trigger self-doubt in them. And they paralyzed the team against Darmstadt in the last half hour. There was no longer anything to be seen of the rehearsed glory. The short passes were no longer received, and when the ball was played “long” in desperation, the ball immediately returned to their own half.
In order to avoid a collapse like the one at Böllenfalltor, we need even more players with extremely high basic quality, nerves of steel and substitutes who provide support. Eintracht doesn't have that, it will take another transfer period or two before that happens.
But should the lesson from Darmstadt for the clash with Mainz 05 on Friday and the rest of the season be that Eintracht plays more long balls again and shortens the orgies of short passes? The experiment cannot be dismissed as a failure with one setback, precisely because the opportunities that this concept offers have become clearly visible.
The idea of gaining even more security through further intensive training and relying on the learning effect for the players, which will avoid a fatal bad pass in the future, like the one Tuta made before the 2-2 draw in Darmstadt, is certainly attractive. Imitating Bayern in a playful way can be a way to get closer to Bayern.
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