Even the holy spirits of football must have been surprised that this game actually took place. There was reason for skepticism right up to the end, because not so long ago Eintracht from Frankfurt was still a diva-like traditional club that was facing a lifelong midlife crisis between mediocrity and relegation needs. That was really a long time ago, probably two or three years.
A few years ago, the football ghosts, fortune tellers and crystal balls could not have been further from the mark. Eintracht Frankfurt, the diva from the Main, has achieved such a rapid rise in status that on Tuesday evening azure demigods were welcomed from the foot of Mount Vesuvius: The Società Sportiva Calcio, the league leader from Italy’s Serie A. Hessian broadcasting houses had in the past Days the “game of games” in prospect, the regional television had produced mini special programs and Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner predicted a team that was “hot as frying pan fat”. However, another milestone in the club’s history was missed: Frankfurt fought bravely and with a lot of heart, but in the end they deservedly lost the Champions League round of 16 game 0:2.
“We tried everything. The course of the game was very unfavorable for us, even with the red card. It was a killer for us. We didn’t do badly in the first few minutes, in the end they played well,” said ex- World champion Mario Götze on Amazon Prime and wanted to keep hope: “We still have a second game. They scored two goals for us, why shouldn’t we do it too?”
A certain class difference was to be expected, because the Neapolitans have mastered all the intricacies of the game. They can keep the ball in their own ranks, increase the tempo abruptly, and there is always a majority created somewhere by forming a triangle. In short: there are hardly any more difficult opponents in Europe. Eintracht, as was evident in the first few minutes, had been given a useful plan by coach Glasner. The offensive man Chwitscha Kwarazchelia, mostly on the left wing, was doubled by the duo Buta and Tuta as soon as the ball came close to him. The Neapolitan ideas laboratory was severely disrupted, and the access routes to the fearsomely in-form striker Victor Osimhen were shut down for the time being.
In the middle of the first half, Napoli shows its class
But Eintracht would not be Eintracht if it hadn’t referred to the self-image of the European Cup that causes injuries and earaches to opponents. Every duel was fought with the required hardness, after winning the ball it went straight ahead – and the Neapolitans seemed honestly dismayed by this intensity and structure. It was Frankfurt who got the first double chance, but a shot from Daichi Kamada was blocked and Randal Kolo Muani’s second attempt went wide. However, Naples was not intimidated, neither by Frankfurt elbows nor by the force of the audience; and they were no longer willing to hide their class midway through the first half.
Eintracht withdrew and the guests took the initiative, which was a coherent strategy in view of Frankfurt’s balance of power. However: Maximum concentration was still required – and that’s exactly what defender Buta lacked when he missed Osimhen trying to clear and knocked him off his feet just behind the edge of the penalty area. Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp was able to parry Kwarazchelia’s weak penalty, but the tipping point moment of the game was now set. Naples had now sensed vulnerability and did not reveal any weaknesses. After Mario Götze lost the ball, they combined Azzurri quickly forward and found Osimhen on the second post, who pushed the ball over the line to make it 1-0 (40th minute). Suddenly it was there, the childlike joy in the game with which the Neapolitans dominate the domestic league – and it began an almost diabolical demonstration of that football that Liverpool and Amsterdam had already despaired of in the preliminary round.
Well, not entirely irrelevant was the fact that Eintracht had to play the last half hour with one man less because Kolo Muani stepped on the ankle of Neapolitan Zambo Anguissa in a duel and was sent off with a red card (58th minute). Minute). It was a tough but justifiable decision. And in the end just one of those carelessnesses that Naples did not afford throughout the game. Shortly after Giovanni Di Lorenzo was sent off, the away team made it 2-0 after a fantastic ball relay, but from Eintracht’s point of view it’s far from over. The stadium announcer announced immediately after the final whistle that Frankfurt had already won in Naples. 1994 was that.