Before his squad introduced themselves to the 1,000-strong crowd in their new home shirts on Wednesday morning, head coach Dino Toppmöller gathered his players at the ProfiCamp near Deutsche Bank Park ahead of the first training session of the new campaign.
Nine internationals and Eintracht’s injured players remain absent, but three new signings were involved in Robin Koch, Hugo Larsson and Ellyes Skhiri, while Hrvoje Smolcic was able to take part in the majority of the 90-minute open session after his three-month injury-enforced absence. Due to the soaring summer temperatures, the squad focused mainly on ball work – much to the delight of players and fans alike.
Another absentee was Ali Akman, who is set to feature for the reserves in the Regionalliga (fourth division) this term. Returning loanees Ragnar Ache, Jens Petter Hauge, Igor Matanovic and Jérôme Onguéné were among the 22 outfield players who will take part in a double session on Thursday as well as a morning session on Friday and Saturday, before Eintracht’s first pre-season friendly in Wetzlar at 15:30 CEST on Saturday afternoon.
“We’ve shown the lads what we want from them: a willingness to perform, to go above and beyond and to show the coach that they’re desperate to play,” said Toppmöller. “The lads were full of energy and enthusiasm right from the start. That’s just what we need. It was a good first training session.”
