As the Eintracht players boarded a plane headed for Alicante ahead of their winter training camp, little did they know what an unforgettable 2018 they were in for.
Perhaps the story of Danny da Costa best reflects Eintracht’s ascent following the turn of the year. After arriving at the club from Bayer Leverkusen the previous summer, Da Costa tore ligaments and missed the entire first half of the season. “I think I know every inch of the city park,” he joked at the time, keeping spirits high as usual.
Shortly before Christmas, Da Costa completed his recovery and coach Niko Kovac gave him a long-awaited return to action as an extra-time substitute in the DFB Cup last-16 tie against Heidenheim. The right-back repaid the favour with an assist for Sébastien Haller’s winner in a 2-1 victory. “It was just the boost I needed for 2018,” said Da Costa afterwards.
Up to fourth place
As for the Bundesliga, Eintracht began the year in sixth on 26 points, two behind third-placed Borussia Dortmund. With the target of reaching 40 points and safety as quickly as possible, they started off the second half of the campaign with a modest 1-1 draw against Freiburg, but victories against Wolfsburg (3-1) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (2-0) followed and propelled the Eagles as high as fourth.
Meanwhile in the DFB Cup, one of the highlights of the season came on 7 February as 48,200 turned out to watch Eintracht sweep Mainz 05 away 3-0 at the Commerzbank Arena, Da Costa playing his first full 90 minutes since returning. “I knew I had to take my chance,” he said – and take it he did. He was again in the starting XI to face Köln subsequently and provided another assist in a 4-2 success. “Everyone’s really helped me since I came back, even after I made a mistake. That really gave me confidence.”
Da Costa’s crucial strike
With Bundesliga safety already secured, focus shifted to finishing as high as possible in the table. A 1-0 defeat against Stuttgart was followed by an important 1-0 victory against Hannover, with Da Costa getting the all-important winner in the 39th minute, heading in from a Jonathan de Guzman corner. “I was so happy when the ball went in," said Da Costa of his maiden Bundesliga goal.
Another match against Mainz – this time in the league – rounded off Eintracht’s March. Goals from Kevin-Prince Boateng, Luka Jovic and Ante Rebic secured another 3-0 win, mirroring the cup quarter-final result and teeing Frankfurt up nicely for the season’s final furlong. Fourth in the table and in the DFB Cup semis, the first quarter of 2018 could hardly have gone better for the club. But the season was far from over yet…
