We don’t know why, we just know it hardly ever differs. This season we seemed lucky to have only three Bundesliga games in November due to the international playoffs for the World Cup 2010. Due to a mix of work and pleasure trips I managed to catch all three of those live, away to Leverkusen, at home against Moenchengladbach and last but not least away to the capitol club Hertha BSC Berlin.
Skibbe-dee, Skibbe-doo…
When the new man Michael Skibbe took over as Eintracht manager at the start of the season he announced less defensive tactics, more attacking spectacle, quick passing and more goals. When we heard that back then we had an old techno song in our heads, where the chorus goes something like ‘skibbe-dee, skibbe-doo, skibbe-danger – I am the rearranger…’. Meanwhile we are back in reality and have to admit that it takes time to change the style of play of a team significantly, and that within a short amount of time there’s only so much you can do. Four months and 14 games into the season the stats of Eintracht do not look that different to what they were a year ago at the same time:
| 2008/09 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 2009/10 |
| 14 | Games | 14 |
| 16 | Points | 19 |
| 12 | Table spot | 10 |
| 19 | Goals | 17 |
| 23 | Goals conceded | 21 |
| 174 | Goal attempts | 164 |
| 14.2% | Chance conversion % | 13.5% |
| 49.9% | Possession % | 50.4% |
| 256 | Fouls | 265 |
| 30 | Yellow cards | 29 |
| 0 | Second yellow cards | 1 |
| 1 | Straight red cards | 2 |
Back at Bayer
So the first game in November took Skibbe back to the club he had managed between 2005 and 2008 – Bayer Leverkusen. And the game was over for Frankfurt before it even had started properly. New signing goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann probably had a bad night’s sleep after his debut for Eintracht in this game, although he himself is hardly to blame. We hardly had taken our seats in the Bay-Arena ground, and Leverkusen – unbeaten and table leader still now – were 1-0 up already after two minutes by a goal of the current Bundesliga top scorer Stefan Kiessling. Four minutes later and poor Faehrmann picked the ball out of his net again for the second Leverkusen goal, and another five minutes later it was 3-0 with only 11 minutes into the game. It was disastrous and I will spare you the details, with a 4-0 defeat Eintracht’s November had started.
Strong Reaction
Manager Skibbe showed a strong reaction, already in the press conference after the game at Leverkusen. In his view the structures of the club would need a work over, in terms of scouting new players, sourcing finances, and aiming at higher goals than the mid table region of Bundesliga. In the following days it was everywhere in the media, and Skibbe gave some more interviews with the same message. It was highly controversial and of course did not go down to well with established officials at the club, who must feel he held them responsible for the ‘little progress’ situation Eintracht is in. Surely the way via the media is always a difficult one, as newspapers and TV broadcasters might cut out quotes and the bigger picture might get lost. One thing the manager said surely made sense – better now stir up a discussion being in a comfortable mid table spot, than in a situation when the club might be in relegation battle. I find he has a point in some of his remarks, but would have thought an internal discussion in between the responsible people could have been the right way.
More November Rain
After the defeats against Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen in cup and league plus the debate Michael Skibbe had initiated, the home game against Borussia Moenchengladbach became quite hyped up, and as it was an opponent ‘at eye level’ hopes were high to finally cross that valley and get a win. But the November tradition hit us hard again and in the very first home game I went to this season we got beat by 2 goals to 1. A rather disappointing affair, not only the result but also the way it came together, plus the lack of alternatives that might bring a change. Skibbe seemed to get to the same limits within the quality of the team that his predecessor Friedhelm Funkel had suffered.
Berlin Calling
The latter was to be met in the away game in Berlin, as he had taken over rock bottom Hertha BSC who are currently on the way of beating every negative record in the Bundesliga history. The game against Eintracht was a crucial one for them, a necessary hope to keep some hope of staying in Bundesliga. And it was also hyped up like a new Star Wars film as Funkel met his old team, and both teams were currently struggling. Hertha had secret trainings sessions ahead of the match, Skibbe kept his line up for the game as a top secret himself, and surprised everyone with a few tactical moves (Chris as central defender, Franz as the right back, Ochs in right midfield for example).
Great Ochs Show – UK Guest
Patrick Ochs made a hell of a game in Berlin, scoring the opener and being involved in two more Eintracht goals (of Franz and Meier) in the build up. It was a most enjoyable Saturday afternoon in the capitol with a 3-1 away win, and so was the evening in this great city with so much to offer. I had my friend Scott from the UK travelling with me to Berlin and after checking out the sights such as the Reichstag, the Jewish Museum and the Brandenburg gate on Friday, the game on Saturday meant another highlight of this trip. @Scott - thanks for being our lucky charm, but also greets to the Eintracht community in Berlin who always make this away game a special one, and one that feels like a home game.
Capitol without Bundesliga Club?
In a way it would be a shame to see the capitol without Bundesliga football. This place has become a standard feature in recent seasons, nearly a ‘must’ game for me and some of my fellow Schobberobber fanclub mates. We had some classic games there, such as the cup final in 2006 or the incredible Martin Fenin debut when he scored a hattrick in the 2007/08 season. Second Bundesliga team 1. FC Union Berlin are currently 5th of the table, but it is quite unlikely that they will get promoted, having just joined 2. Bundesliga this season. Maybe Hertha will manage the miracle and get out of this super bad patch – but that will be very hard to achieve.
What’s next for the eagles?
After this away win things are looking up for Eintracht. Next weekend we’ll have the crucial derby against Mainz 05 at home, who have played a great season so far, after their promotion to Bundesliga (currently 7th with 23 points from 14 games!). Hopefully we’ll get a result there to get some confidence for the tough final two games of the year: away to big spenders Hoffenheim, and at home against the German champions Wolfsburg. Maybe Santa Claus has got some nice presents in the bag for us in December!
1 Goal – Education for All
I would like to turn your attention to an important matter as I came across the ‘1 Goal – Education for All’ campaign recently. It is part of the Global Campaign for Education and takes the World Cup 2010 as an opportunity to spread awareness about the fact that there are 75 million children on the globe being denied the opportunity to go to a proper school, 33 million in Africa alone. So please take the time to check out the campaign at http://www.join1goal.org/, please sign up and please spread the word - in the comfortable lives we’re leading this is the easiest thing we can do!
Merry Christmas!
