IThis working week, the first of the 2022/23 season, Lucas Alario and Randal Kolo Muani spoke with one voice. Argentinian Alario and Frenchman, both newcomers to Eintracht Frankfurt and both forwards, did not discuss private matters.

Alario’s introductory press conference briefly talks about his girlfriend Agustina Albertario, who is a national hockey player in Argentina with 196 caps (58 goals) and who won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Kolo Muani, who, like Alario, willingly answered every other question a day later on Thursday, did not want to provide any information as to whether he had come to Frankfurt with his family. It is possible that their new employer recommended that both of them avoid these topics in public.

attraction of unity

Alario, who moved to Main from Leverkusen, and Kolo Muani (FC Nantes) also agreed on their feelings towards their new club. In the games of the Europa League you “really felt what kind of team spirit there was in the team”, reported Alario: “That kept me.” of the Champions League is also under her spell. In Frankfurt “a lot of great things happened recently. This is where I felt the strongest attraction,” said the Frenchman, who came to Germany as a cup winner and believes in a “great 2022/2023 season”.

For Alario, who also had offers from Spain, participation in the premier class is a huge attraction. “I love big games and big competitions,” he said. Eintracht had signed him for a fee of around six million euros shortly before the start of the pre-season. In the case of the free transfer Muani, on the other hand, the change has been fixed since the beginning of March. He was “happy and proud” when the Hessians made their international masterpiece.

Lammers and Paciencia are not enough

In the final sprint the 1.74 meter tall Rafael Borré played a large part. The Colombia international trumped in the highlight games: he scored in the quarter-final second leg against Barcelona, ​​in the semi-final second leg against West Ham and twice in the final against Glasgow Rangers – only to make it 1-1. To crown it all, Borré converted the crucial fifth penalty after extra time to win the title.

What the hero of the final didn’t know before the start of the last round: The South American became more or less the sole entertainer in the Frankfurt attack – although he had wished for a real centre-forward in the team to provide active support. “I can complement myself well with a nine, create space and make the offensive game more dangerous,” said Borré. But for the Atalanta Bergamo center forward Sam Lammers, the German league was a size too big; he brought it to a total of just under 800 minutes of use.

In the case of Portuguese attacker Gonçalo Paciência, who is about to leave, it was only 689 minutes. In the end, Borré, who was struggling as a lone fighter at the top, had more than 3500 minutes; in 44 competitive games he was happy about twelve goals and seven assists.

Does Glasner rely on a dual leadership?

In the future, there could be a dual leadership at Eintracht to Borré’s enthusiasm – with Alario or Muani at his side. Especially if winger Filip Kostic should leave the club this summer and coach Oliver Glasner would have such an important reason to change the system to a 4-4-2, which he would be happy to do.

Due to his services in the previous season, the hard-working Borré will probably start the new round with a bonus. Only: Its competition has clearly increased in quality. He will therefore have to fight harder than last season to maintain his place. The penalty area striker Alario did not have a regular place in Leverkusen recently, but he still comes to Frankfurt with the recommendation of a total of 58 goals and 16 assists in 164 competitive games; The Argentinian was particularly accurate in the duels (new games, four goals and four assists) against Eintracht. “I have to score goals as a nine,” said Alario during his presentation.

So far he hasn’t had a sense of achievement in the Champions League, but he’s happy to “break the spell in Frankfurt”.

Alario is always most comfortable when he has a second striker at his side. Alario briefly played with Borré in Argentina at River Plate, where he won the South American equivalent of the European Champions League. “Top player, top professional, top person” – that’s exactly how Alario describes his new, old teammate Borré, with whom he gets along well as a person.

From Glasner’s point of view, Alario has an “incredibly good final quality”. Kolo Muani also knows where the goal is, having scored 12 goals and provided five assists in 36 Ligue 1 games for Nantes. According to the athletic Frenchman, one of his strengths is speed, and the agile professional can also switch to his wings. “Technically, I can also contribute my part to the game.” Kolo Muani will have to get used to the pace and intensity in the Bundesliga. How the three attackers have to get used to it. But one thing is clear: Glasner has significantly more options for variation than in the previous season with Alario, Borré and Kolo Muani.