Bundesliga
Frankfurt 2019/20 season preview
Eintracht Frankfurt are back for more in 2019/20 as they look to replicate their barnstorming UEFA Europa League campaign and domestic success.
bundesliga.com takes a closer look at what to expect from the Eagles…
Aims in 2019/20
Eintracht’s season got off to an ominous start last year with a 5-0 Supercup loss to Bayern Munich and first-round elimination from the DFB Cup as defending champions, yet the campaign turned into one of the best in living memory, pushing for UEFA Champions League qualification until the very end and reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Now with a year’s Bundesliga experience under his belt, coach Adi Hütter will be eager to ensure his maiden campaign was not a one-off. Frankfurt occupied a top-four berth for long periods of last season but will have to push on three fronts without top scorers Luka Jovic and Sebastien Haller following their departures.
Eintracht have already been in competitive action since the end of July, beating Estonia’s Flora Tallinn 4-2 on aggregate in the Europa League second qualifying round, so will begin the domestic campaign with minutes in their legs already. Hütter’s side will doubtlessly be targeting a top-seven finish again in 2019/20, as well as another extended European campaign. Avoiding another embarrassing DFB Cup slip will also be on the cards for the 2018 winners.
Player to watch
Jovic may have stolen all the headlines in Frankfurt’s remarkable 2018/19 campaign, while Haller provided the glue up front, but Ante Rebic is now the main man in the Frankfurt attack. After winning Eintracht their first DFB Cup in 30 years with his final brace against Bayern, the Croatia international returned from finishing second at the 2018 FIFA World Cup to record the best league campaign of his career since leaving his homeland in 2014. His haul of nine Bundesliga goals and three assists ensured that the Eagles had a better record with him than without him.
Watch: Who is Ante Rebic?
Summer transfers
IN: Marijan Cavar (NK Osijek, end of loan), Erik Durm (Huddersfield Town), Martin Hinteregger (Augsburg, loan deal made permanent), Dejan Joveljic (Red Star Belgrade), Luka Jovic (Benfica, loan deal made permanent), Daichi Kamada (St. Truiden, end of loan), Dominik Kohr (Bayer Leverkusen), Filip Kostic (Hamburg, loan deal made permanent), Nicolai Müller (Hannover, end of loan), Sebastian Rode (Borussia Dortmund, loan deal made permanent), Djibril Sow (Young Boys), Kevin Trapp (Paris Saint-Germain, loan deal made permanent), Felix Wiedwald (Duisburg, end of loan), Rodrigo Zalazar (Malaga)
OUT: Aymen Barkok (Fortuna Düsseldorf, loan extended), Dejo Beyreuther (Hoffenheim reserves), Danny Blum (Bochum), Max Bususchkow (Jahn Regensburg), Sebastien Haller (West Ham United), Mischa Häuser (FSV Frankfurt), Branimir Hrgota (Greuther Fürth), Luka Jovic (Real Madrid), Noel Knothe (Nuremberg reserves), Nelson Mandela Mbouhom (end of contract), Andersson Ordonez (LDU Quito, loan deal made permanent), Tobias Stirl (Wolfsburg reserves), Tuta (KV Kortrijk, loan), Jetro Willems (Newcastle United, loan), Rodrigo Zalazar (Korona Kielce, loan)
How they might line up
Stadium
The Commerzbank-Arena was built on the site of Frankfurt's previous stadium - the Waldstadion, which had stood since in 1925 – at a cost of €126 million between 2002 and 2005 with a capacity of 51,500 (9,300 standing). As you might expect by now from a stadium in Germany, no detail was too minute and it is kitted out with (among others): a retractable roof, a 30-ton video cube that hangs over the centre circle, and a rain-water recycling system that covers almost 100 per cent of water usage in the stadium's toilets and restrooms.
In addition to hosting football matches - including men's and women's internationals - Frankfurt's home also regularly stages other major sporting and musical events. U2, The Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode and Bruce Springsteen have all played here, while heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko successfully defended his world title in 2010.
Watch: Inside the Commerzbank-Arena
First five fixtures
Matchday 1: Hoffenheim (h) – Sunday, 18 August, 3.30pm CEST
Matchday 2: RB Leipzig (a) – Sunday, 25 August, 3.30pm CEST
Matchday 3: Fortuna Düsseldorf (h) – Sunday, 1 September, 6pm CEST
Matchday 4: Augsburg (a) – Saturday, 14 September, 3.30pm CEST
Matchday 5: Borussia Dortmund (h) – Sunday, 22 September, 6pm CEST