Do you already know any of the lads from the team?
Yeah, I played with Amin Younes and Djibril Sow at Gladbach, so I already know two players. I only know the rest as opponents, but there’s also Martin Spohrer on the coaching staff, a fitness coach I had at Gladbach, and Patrick Kux, a physio also from my Gladbach days.
What do you know about the city of Frankfurt?
Not so much, but I’ve heard a lot from a lot of people since the move was announced. A lot of people have given their impressions of Frankfurt. And all actually positive, which is astonishing. Of course, I thought there would also be negative voices, but actually they were all, or 95 per cent, positive, and now I’m looking forward to getting to know the city and people better.
How did you feel when Eintracht expressed an interest in signing you?
It was relatively easy. Eintracht are a big club and have developed incredibly in recent years, have taken several steps forwards, and that was the reason for me to take the next step in my career, and I immediately said I definitely want to take the step to Eintracht.
You were one of the first signings for the new season, and it was when Fredi Bobic and Adi Hütter were still in charge of the sporting side of things. Does it make a difference for you that you now have two new points of contact in Markus Krösche and Oliver Glasner?
It was strange at the start because the people I’d spoken to were gone, but essentially it doesn’t matter who’s there. I have to get to know every coach, show myself and that’s why I’m looking forward to the job. It’s a new coach for everyone and everyone has to learn everything afresh.
You follow a vegan diet. How did that come about?
I started because of a bad injury where I gave up animal products for six months. It started after that when we were in the Bundesliga with Union because I noticed it felt like we would just run around with Union, and running was so strenuous in the game. I said I had to do something, so I tried to get an extra few per cent through that.
If we can show the quality of recent years on the pitch, then I don’t see any obstacles for us.
Christopher Lenz
What are your main strengths?
I think I’m go-getting, run a lot and always try to put the opponent under pressure and win the ball. I don’t just want to passively watch on, but win back the ball so we can start a counter-attack.
What are your expectations of the team and the coming season?
I don’t have any great expectations. First of all, I want to settle in, start the season well with Eintracht, then maybe rock the Europa League again like back then. If we can do all that and show the quality of recent years on the pitch, then I don’t see any obstacles for us.
