Club in “incredible continuous rush”
As expected, Eintracht Frankfurt’s board spokesman Axel Hellmann drew a very positive conclusion for the past twelve months shortly before the turn of the year and gave an optimistic outlook for 2023. “I can’t remember a more moving year since I’ve been at Eintracht Frankfurt. Since May and winning the Europa League we have been in an unbelievable constant rush,” said Hellmann in the Hessen podcast. The coming year will bring Eintracht “once again in sport, but also in the overall emotionality around the club”.
In view of the rapid development of the club, he still has to pinch himself sometimes and feels great anticipation for the continuation of the season after the winter break. “We’re looking ahead to 2023 and we know we’re in all three competitions, we’re in a Champions League place in the Bundesliga, we’re in the round of 16 in the Champions League and we have a big game ahead of us. Despite all attempts at an explanation, this is a mystery,” said Hellmann. In February and March, duels with Serie A leaders SSC Napoli, a similarly emotional club, await in the “premier class”.
Frankfurt as an outsider: Champions League round of 16 by squad values
Winning the Europa League was a great success. “But to be among the top 16 clubs in Europe is really something extraordinary for Eintracht Frankfurt. We’ve shown that these big shoes fit us. For me, that’s a pointer to what’s possible in football,” said Hellmann. With around 269.75 million euros, the Frankfurters are the team with the third lowest squad value in the “premier class”, but at the beginning of the year it was still 198.75 million euros. Accordingly, Eintracht recorded growth of 35.7 percent in 2022 despite summer departures like Filip Kostic. If you exclude the two promoted teams Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 in a comparison of all Bundesliga clubs, the curve for no other club in the German upper house was steeper than for the “Adlerträgern”.
Hellmann: “Maintain deep roots to the fan and home”
Despite the sporting high-flying, they will not forget their roots in the future either, “because there is a lot of authenticity in this club. There are areas like fan culture that we don’t and don’t want to get into. If you want to have credibility as a club, the success, performance and competitiveness – which we have to bring – must never come at the expense of basic support,” Hellmann explained the club’s philosophy. “We want to be a club with an international focus, but also maintain deep roots in the fans and at home. It is important that this balance is struck.”
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