(Translated by Thomas Snaith)
While national football in Switzerland is at rest, football continues on a continental level. As a result, FCB is currently the only Swiss football club that can participate in matches at the highest level, even if it is in an empty Frankfurt stadium – The absence of supporters was communicated on Wednesday.
As a TEAM we are CONTINUOUSLY in communication in regards to the CURRENT Situation. WE HAVE RESPECT AND UNDERSTANDING, BUT NO FEAR.
Frankfurt´s schedule has also gotten a bit shaken up; Not like in Switzerland due to the Corona virus, but because the Germans had to postpone their second leg fixture against FC Salzburg (round of last 32) due to severe weather conditions. As a result, Eintracht's Bundesliga away game at SV Werder Bremen, which should have taken place the following Sunday, had to be postponed.
Up and down
Eintracht from Frankfurt reached the semi-finals of the DFB Cup last week by eliminating SV Werder Bremen. Last weekend they played away from home, against Hessen´s Bayer 04 Leverkusen but lost 0:4. It is currently going up and down for Eintracht Frankfurt.Nach einem guten Start ins neue Jahr verlor Eintracht Frankfurt die letzten drei Ligaspiele in Folge. In der Europa League zeigten die Frankfurter aber, ähnlich wie der FCB, ein anderes Gesicht: Den FC Salzburg schlugen sie zuhause klar mit 4:1 und das oben angesprochene, um einen Tag verlegte, Rückspiel gestalteten sie mit einem 2:2 ebenfalls erfolgreich, zumindest ohne um die Teilnahme an den Achtelfinals zittern zu müssen.
time for recuperation and preparation
FCB was not prepared for this unexpected break but make the best out of this situation. After the 3-0 win in Cyprus, followed by Rotblau´s 1-0 home victory against APOEL FC, FCB started their “time-out” on a high, due to their positive performances and associated results. Whether this is an advantage or a disadvantage for FCB cannot yet be concluded: Sure, Frankfurt will be playing their 3rd game in 8 days which means they have more rhythm. FCB definitely had more time to regenerate and prepare for this round of the competition.
WE HAD A LOT OF TIME TO ANALYZE THE OPPONENT. WE KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR, WE ARE PREPARED AND WILL DO our BEST ON THURSDAY.
A positive effect in the run-up to this fixture can be seen on FCB´s list of injured players. After Basel´s last fixture there were a total of seven players who were injured or sick; This number has now been reduced to three: Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Ricky van Wolfswinkel and Luca Zuffi will not be available on Thursday. Eric Ramires and Kemal Ademi are still recovering from injury. Omar Alderete who wasn’t able to play against APOEL due to suspension is back and eligible to play in Frankfurt.
TWO CONSECUTIVE EUROPEAN FIXTURES
The fixture in Frankfurt places FCB in an unusual situation. After two weeks without a professional fixture FCB continues where they left off; Europa League football! – without any supporters in an empty stadium, renowned for its impressive atmosphere. It is not yet known where and under which circumstances the second leg will take place. Time will tell.. We hope FCB´s forced break will have positive and not negative implications on Thursday night´s result. Let´s see what happens..
IN THE LAST few DAYS we have strongly concentrated on EINTRACHT FRANKFURT. WE HAD MORE TIME AS usual in preperation for this fixture. We are missing a little bit of the competitive rhythm.
