Wpoor words before the cooling thunderstorm. Dino Toppmöller didn’t hesitate for a second when it came to picking someone out of his oversized squad. Actually, it is not usual to go into detail about individual pros after friendlies against lower-class opponents. But the new coach of Frankfurt Eintracht did it – and it was right. Paxten Aaronson has seized the opportunity. The small American with great running ability scored four goals in the first test of the summer.
The game against FSV Braunfels, played in the Wetzlar stadium, was a welcome opportunity to get a first impression of the new Eintracht. It was generally expected that in the end it was 15:1 against the brave Braunfelser, who play as a seventh division club in the group league.
The class difference between the full professionals and the after-work soccer players was too blatant. And yet: Aaronson was one of the Eintracht ensembles who was fun to play with his way of playing football and earned a few diligence and sympathy points. “It was a successful test and of course you shouldn’t overestimate it. But Paxten did a great job. He played with commitment and indicated his great potential,” said Toppmöller. “He was very agile and has a good positional play,” said the Frankfurt soccer coach in praise of the hard-working American, who hopes to get closer to the team in his second Eintracht season. Toppmöller is confident Aaronson can pull this off. “He should take big steps forward.”
“The biggest game of her career”
Aaronson isn’t the only one with development potential. Toppmöller basically wants to give everyone in his squad the chance to show themselves and present themselves. “There were good processes,” said the coach about the entertaining performance in Wetzlar. As in training, the ball circulated smoothly through the rows. Apart from one or two actions in which the Braunfelser came dangerously in front of the Frankfurt goal through Can Arslan, the best in their team and even scored the consolation goal by Davide Lucianic to make it 1:3 (32nd minute), Eintracht was able to switch and do as she pleases. Attacker Igor Matanovic opened the scoring (7th) and scored another goal (35th). Jens Petter Hauge (11th, 43rd), Timothy Chandler (15th), Ragnar Ache (59th, 81st), Ellyes Skhiri (61st), Junior Dina Ebimbe (68th, 89th) , Christopher Lenz (74′, penalty) and four-goal Aaronson (54′, 65′, 77′, 86′) successfully.
Of course the stadium in Wetzlar was sold out with 6500 spectators. That rarely happens – but always when Eintracht is a guest in the region and does grassroots work. Like this Saturday, when the enthusiasm around the Frankfurt team was particularly great. Wetzlar may also have been an away game for Eintracht: the team is very popular in Hesse. “Today was the biggest game of our boys’ careers,” said Braunfels board member Jens Kirchert.
“Satisfied with previous transfers”
For the Eintracht professionals, it was the start of a summer preparation with further tests and the training camp in Windischgarsten starting next Sunday. “We want to give something back to the fans during the preparations,” said Timmo Hardung, explaining the official trip to Wetzlar. The sports director of Eintracht was also part of the Frankfurt travel company, as was Jessic Ngankam.
The attacker, who has been officially and contractually bound to Eintracht since Friday until mid-2028, did not play a part in the 15-1 win. But he used the half-time break to keep fit by running and sprinting in the stadium. “We are satisfied with the transfers so far,” said sporting director Hardung. “But there is still a lot to do.” The Eintracht squad includes 39 professionals. There is still a lot that needs to be done and will be done. “Even a group of 30 players is still too big,” said Toppmöller.
Reinforcements are expected this Monday. The national players return and take up the day’s work after the end of their vacation. Toppmöller is looking forward to working with Kevin Trapp, Jesper Lindstrom, Randal Kolo Muani and all the others. And Hardung is sure: “Dino is very focused. He has a clear plan. Every training day is more or less planned for the entire preparation.” What cannot be planned is the individual motivation of a player. In this respect, Aaronson’s ambitious appearance is a nice surprise.
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