Four months is a long time. Professional football was rarely played in Frankfurt in the summer; almost 60,000 people ran, cycled and rode mopeds to the first home game of the new season in the Waldstadion.
Many of them hoped for a new team, a new coach, a new style of play. But what they saw on Sunday evening at the end of the second match day was a journey back in time to spring: In a few minutes, Eintracht gave up a game, losing 1:4 (1:0) against FC Augsburg.
They experienced déjà vu in the 46th and 47th minutes of the game when Augsburg scored two goals while the Eintracht defense was still trying to sort itself out. Arijon Ibrahimović (1:1) and Robin Fellhauer (1:2) were the shooters. Also already seen: a goalkeeper who directs a catchable ball to the side - to the feet of the striker. Last year the shaky goalkeepers were Michael Zetterer and Kauã Santos, now this mishap happened to Noah Atubolu when Augsburg scored the opening goal.
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The FCA Frenchman Alexis Claude-Maurice dribbled his way through the Frankfurt defense in the 65th minute and, you guessed it, the distances between midfield and defense, the timid defending, that brought back memories. Not a favorite, however, at least for Eintracht fans. They hummed along for a bit, the players had no idea how to outsmart the Augsburg defense.
Ebnoutalib crosses and Burkardt nods off
Lunch started differently, euphorically. The Frankfurt team grabbed the Augsburg jerseys whenever possible. She repeatedly placed her feet in front of those of the opponent from the south. The small Japanese Keita Kosugi scurried along the left wing, the bandaged midfielder Raphael Onyedika organized the game in the middle. Can Uzun passed to Younes Ebnoutalib, he crossed, Burkardt headed into the goal: 1-0, six minutes had been played.
The aesthetic value of the Augsburg game was initially limited to their beautiful white and burgundy away jerseys. Once defender Noahkai Banks headed at the feet of Ebnoutalib, who was denied by the goalkeeper (39th minute). At this point it was 1-0, but no one at Eintracht was particularly upset about the missed opportunity - it was worth considering. And she thought she was thinking about it.
Augsburg's Fabian Rieder took the ball for a free kick and shot just wide. That was Manuel Baum's team's first shot on goal. And it was a harbinger of what was to follow after half-time: the two quick Augsburg goals, Claude-Maurice's goal - and Rieder's second attempt, which flew into the corner of the Frankfurt goal (1:4, 89th minute).
The Augsburg team are leaders. Baum said after the game that he took a screenshot on his cell phone. “We will remain the Augsburg team that is first for the first time in the club’s history.”
Hütter tags in Chandler
An hour earlier, fellow coach Hütter tried to revive them with three changes in the minutes in which Eintracht lost the game. He scratched his head, his co-coach Christian Peintinger held his hand to his face.
Hütter brought stadium favorite Timothy Chandler into the game for the overwhelmed Elias Baum. It was loud for two minutes, but Chandler stepped over the ball when he had a good shot opportunity. The change was symbolic of the biggest gap in the Frankfurt squad: he is sparsely occupied in the full-back positions. Last season, Chandler played ten minutes in one game.
Midfielder Mario Götze said the team had to understand the game and its phases. There are just moments when you run behind. The majority of both games, the 3:3 in Berlin and the 1:4 against Augsburg, “were very good”. The seven goals conceded, the slumps, the sinking heads, it's not a head problem. “On the second day of the match?” Götze answered a question. Sports director Markus Krösche also reassured: "I understand the excitement, I understand the nervousness. We have to be patient."
“We couldn’t find our way back into the game,” said Adi Hütter. He had fun in the first half: “That’s how I imagine football.”
The second was a disappointment. “We were very vulnerable on counterattacks.” More pictures from the old poetry album: Ten minutes before the end, hundreds of spectators left the stadium, some of those remaining whistled as the referee ended the game.
The players stood perplexed in front of the singing curve, striker Burkardt frowned at the TV microphone. And the coach, who is now called Adi Hütter, said: "You can't get seven goals in two games. We have to stop that as quickly as possible." Four months isn't a long time.
