Mar 17, 2026
3 min read
Eintracht Frankfurt is strong in defense, but lacks offensive ideas.Coach Riera wanted to put on a show, but creativity fell by the wayside.
Despite the success under Riera: Eintracht Frankfurt without any desire to attack
Follow us on GoogleEintracht Frankfurt is stable in defense, but lacks ideas in attack.Coach Riera wanted to show drama, but creativity was left aside.
When referee Harm Osmers sent Frankfurt Defense Secretary Robin Koch off the pitch last Saturday after a foul on Mikkel Kaufmann, Eintracht fans' hearts exploded a few weeks ago.
Not only the last quarter of the match against 1. FC Heidenheim, but especially in relation to the next task on Sunday at FSV Mainz 05. Because without the captain, who found his old form again, the Eintracht defense could not really be ready to defend.Especially since two other cornerstones, Arthur Theater and Rasmus Christensen, are missing.
Thanks to the new coach Albert Riera that the fear of the defense cannot manifest itself even after the back of the staff.The Spaniard was able to guide the defensive team into playing again, regardless of personnel.The flood of goals conceded, which former coach Dino Toppmöller and interim coach Dennis Schmitt failed to achieve, has been a thing of the past since Riera.He had a six-game career as Eintracht coach and his team kept a clean slate on four occasions.Last three home games: 1-0 against Heidenheim, 2-0 against Freiburg, 3-0 against Mönchengladbach. In St. Pauli it was enough to make the score 0-0 and in the 1-1 draw against Union Berlin this match required a penalty to score.Only in the 2:3 defeat at Bayern, where Frankfurt's defense did not hold firm.But it happened to others.
Koch was already missing that match in Munich at that time due to illness.Riera surprisingly replaced the national player with midfielder Eli Skhir.The Tunisian player did a good job.So it can be expected that the veteran will also be represented by Koch in Mainz.Next to him will play youngsters Nnamdi Collins (22) and Aurel Amenda (22), whose performances are very different.Although Collins has walked through a deep valley, he exudes nothing but security.The opposite of Amanda.The Swiss international has used many minutes of recent action to get back into shape and really show what he can do for the first time since his January 2024 move from Bern to Frankfurt.
Riera consciously holds back when it comes to evaluating individual players, preferring to trust the maxim of coaching everywhere: the star is the team.Riera, a midfielder at the height of his playing career, has tackled the root of the defensive problem with a proposition of sorts since his arrival in early February.He fought against the uncertainty that recurred in the personal mistakes made by individual players with speech and conviction.Almost all players talk about "knowing what we have to do again".This phrase comes from Robin Koch, but applies to his colleagues.
It doesn't always look good, but it's not only useful in difficult situations, it's successful.One last example: Despite being outnumbered, Frankfurt basically didn't allow their opponents Heidenheim to score an equaliser.At this point, the fence proved to be a stable defensive rampart.The players, apart from the reckless Collins, avoided taking risks and could focus on the important things.And at Eintracht that means defending the own goal.Riera said: I see a team that feels comfortable in defense.This is new, but he could be right.
Trade magazine Kicker caused a stir on Monday morning with exciting news: for the first time since the Bundesliga was founded in 1963, no more than two goals have been scored in a game in a single day.This has never happened in 2,129 game days.Borussia Mönchengladbach (2:0 vs. St. Pauli), Dortmund (2:0 vs. Augsburg) and Mainz (2:0 in Bremen) scored two goals.it was only one group.According to "Kicker", the lowest scoring games in history were 26 in the 1989/90 season and 20 in the 1998/99 season.
Of course, it's one thing to feel good.The Frankfurters have lost the will to attack because they prefer to defend.And the expectations of this coach were diametrically opposed.Riera said he wanted to create something "special" with Eintracht.In his statement he said: "Football is a show, it's not just about results, it's about entertaining the crowd. They now want to feel something in the stadium."plays no role in Frankfurt;The result factor took over exclusive control. Eintracht's football lost all creativity.Fans of good football are sad.
