There he stood there, a bundle of misery. Quite pale and badly battered in the face. Rasmus Kristensen, who, true to his fearless nature, had chosen a short-sleeved jersey in the uncomfortable weather in Baku, looked like the symbol of Eintracht Frankfurt’s bedraggled appearance in their Champions League elimination by Qarabag Agdam (2:3).
His nose scarred and scraped, bloodied edges under the eyes, because it had struck him badly in the face last Friday against Werder Bremen (3:3). Nevertheless the brave Dane did not want to shrink away from Eintracht Frankfurt, but on this ill-fated mission to the Caspian Sea the model professional became the emblem of the decay that has accompanied the Hesse into the new year. In the first and second goals he had been overrun, as if he wore not only the mask but also leaden boots.
“Our faith is bigger than your budget,” the fans of the club, often dubbed the “FC Barcelona of the Caucasus” from Azerbaijan, had written on a large banner. No matter how bravely the 1,000 Eintracht fans, who had accompanied despite the UEFA ban, made themselves heard: the outsider from the resource-rich country with its famous Flame Towers grabbed the last chance by the scruff of the neck, while the guests, especially in the final instance, again failed to gain a foothold.
To the 39 goals conceded in the Bundesliga come now 19 in the Champions League. What began beautifully as a spectacular 5:1 victory over Galatasaray Istanbul as leaders after the first matchday ended already in the penultimate round of the league phase in truly dreadful fashion: 4 points, 33rd place out of 36 teams. The last home game against Tottenham Hotspur (Wednesday 9 p.m.) will be a sad farewell performance at the Waldstadion. From the admired attributes of the Europa League winners 2022, this SGE makeshift squad has nothing left.
Casual Onlookers
Eintracht is internationally only casual onlookers now. And that must set everyone on high alert. The winners almost completed their victory lap to the gala classic “Freed from Desire,” as sporting director Markus Krösche came into the mixed zone visibly sobered. “We are making the same mistakes as we have in the last weeks. We have improved a few things, but we have fallen back into the same patterns,” said the 45-year-old in a quiet voice. “The lads lack self-confidence and security. We must walk through a deep valley.”
The last goal conceded by Bahlul Mustafazada (90.+4) felt like a blow to the stomach. Even the manager responsible for squad composition realized that evening that the causes run deeper. That the malaise of 2026, with now a consistent three goals conceded in each of the four competitive matches, was not solely the fault of the sacked Dino Toppmöller and his coaching staff.
If any more proof was needed, this ungainly, indeed partly uninspired performance in the stadium named after the ominous linesman Tofiq Bahramov provided it. As decisively as the man pointed to the center at the infamous Wembley goal in the 1966 World Cup final, so eager the hosts seemed sixty years later to drive the German guests to their knees. The Adlerträger, however, found that on the pitch—not green as in the 2013 Europa League playoff game, but again hard to play on—the last hunger, and above all conviction, was missing. The stance criticized by chief executive Axel Hellmann at the turn of the year as a “too much feel-good oasis” is apt. Many professionals no longer push beyond their boundaries. Not even in the European Cup. And that is the danger of the Frankfurt mix.
Improvement? What Improvement?
Almost cute that the constantly haloed interim coach Dennis Schmitt supposedly saw improvement. The motivator on the sideline praised a “clearly better duel rate and more intensity,” but the 32-year-old must also have noticed: improvements in trace elements are not enough at this level. He and club icon Alex Meier still oversee the home match against TSG Hoffenheim (Saturday 3:30 p.m.), for which one needs “analysis and training” — and time that the interim duo does not have. And so the faulty behavioral patterns are hardly broken by mere admonition.
The new coach, who is expected to be Marco Rose, finds a deeply unsettled squad. The club is not fitting on many levels. That at the airport the stand-in goalkeeper Michael Zetterer and left-back Nathaniel Brown had to wait almost three hours because of form errors in the electronic visa application by the team management, as well as sloppy fans and media, proved telling for this trip. “We should fix the mistakes promptly,” Krösche pleaded. “Each and every one of us is needed. We must fully concentrate on the Bundesliga.” There is not much more to say.
