Freiburg, Union and Cologne are hot for European evenings
Freiburg / Berlin / Nice (dpa) – Eintracht Frankfurt has shown how it can work. After advancing to the semi-finals in the 2018/2019 season, the Hessians celebrated one party after another in the past Europa League season and finally even the title.
Eintracht has noticeably upgraded the public perception of the little sister of the Champions League and should serve as a role model for the Bundesliga soccer teams that start the group stage of the European Cup this Thursday: SC Freiburg and Union Berlin in the Europa League, 1. FC Köln in the Conference League one floor below.
German representative with a desire for the Europa League
“I’ve seen a lot of Frankfurt games. It was a lot of fun – also with their extraordinary fans, who always traveled with them,” said Freiburg’s offensive man Vincenzo Grifo before the start against the Azerbaijani champions Karabakh Agdam (21.00 / RTL). “The Champions League is of course the crème de la crème. But we are glad that we can play internationally and show ourselves on this stage.” That was not always the case with the Bundesliga clubs.
Less money, less glamour, less greed. For a long time, a great performance by German teams in the Europa League could be described quite well with this rule of three. In the shadow of the much more lucrative premier class, the competition of many clubs often seemed like a burden because of the additional burden – and rarely arouses much desire. This time it should be different. Ideally, like the Frankfurters.
“Frankfurt did well,” said SC coach Christian Streich. However, the problems that the Hessians had in the past league season are also “not to be forgotten”. Keyword triple burden. The people of Freiburg have also had to deal with the previous detours into international business. This time they feel like they have a bigger squad but are better equipped – and come out with the confidence of a Bundesliga league leader.
Trimmel unions: “Pure anticipation”
Union also got off to a strong start and finished fourth in the league after beating champions FC Bayern Munich 1-1 last weekend. Captain Christopher Trimmel feels “pure anticipation” for the game against the Belgian Club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (6.45 p.m. / RTL +) – also because the Köpenickers, unlike last year, are allowed to play in the Conference League in the Alte Försterei and not in the Olympic Stadium have to dodge. “The mood will be special,” said Trimmel. “Every fan will see that the day has finally come when we play internationally in our own stadium.”
The Cologne team will have to do without their suspended coach Steffen Baumgart in the first Conference League group game at OGC Nice. “I will look after the team beforehand, then say goodbye – and probably be heard in the stands,” said the 50-year-old before the duel with the French and the preferred Dortmund coach Lucien Favre (18.45 / RTL +).
Assistant André Pawlak will replace Baumgart, who received a second yellow card in added time in the second leg of the play-off at Fehérvár FC (3-0), during the game. The Cologne head coach will not be the only FC sympathizer in the stands.
More than 10,000 fans will probably accompany FC to the Cote d’Azur. It brings back memories of Eintracht – and their legendary journey through Europe. Now a trio wants to write the next success stories.
Copyright 2022, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved