In the DFB Cup final, it will also depend on the best scorer in the league. Eintracht striker Randal Kolo Muani spoke before the season finale in Berlin about his crazy last year and about the future.
Randal Kolo Muani doesn’t let himself be disturbed – neither on the pitch nor in press events. “I’m relaxed, I don’t sleep badly,” said the 24-year-old Frenchman on Wednesday with a stoic facial expression. With Eintracht he is facing the DFB Cup final in Berlin, but on the one hand Kolo Muani won a cup final with Nantes a year ago, on the other hand half a year ago he played in the biggest final in football, the World Cup. As if that wasn’t Valium enough for quiet nights: Kolo Muani goes into the final on Saturday (8 p.m.) with a quota of 40 goals in 45 games.
“It was a full season for me, also thanks to the help of my team-mates,” said Kolo Muani on Wednesday. But that was only partially true: in the first half of the season he had benefited greatly from the impressively triumphant offensive behind him, but in the second half of the season Kolo Muani had to shoulder the stumbling Eintracht almost single-handedly. He seemed to take on the task with a naturalness that also characterizes him when taking penalties.
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Eintracht’s path to the cup final
world class thanks down-to-earth
He reacted similarly unimpressed to the many other topics surrounding his person: there was the missed chance to score in the World Cup final (“I dealt with that alone, it’s part of my job”), there were reports of a transfer fee of 100 million euros for him ( “You can talk about transfer fees after the final”) and there was the special praise of the world star Kylian Mbappe (“Compliments are always nice”) – everything left Kolo Muani unmoved, not only on Wednesday. And if you watch him in everyday training or talk to people who know him well, then the nonchalance is not played. Despite all the headlines, the man is unimpressed and remains down-to-earth.
For precisely this reason, coach Oliver Glasner attested that he had what it takes to become a world-class player and revealed that Kolo Muani didn’t let himself down when he had problems with his adductors in the past few weeks. “That was also due to the strain, so we dosed the training. But I’m at 100 percent on Saturday,” said Kolo Muani now. Last, in the win against SC Freiburg, the French even impressed guest coach Christian Streich with his goal to make it 1-1. “He’s in the air for two seconds, you can’t defend that. Quality like that makes all the difference.”
“The option exists”
The mix underscores Kolo Muani’s outstanding sporting value: There may be many strikers with strong sprints, but few who combine these skills with physical assertiveness and clean technique and also show such a good header game. A similar high-flyer could be admired this season with Victor Osimhen in Naples. It is no coincidence that both the Nigerian and Kolo Muani are traded as the first candidates at FC Bayern. According to reports, however, Osimhen seems too expensive for Bayern – Kolo Muani would stay in Munich as the longingly missed number 9.
Frankfurt’s sporting director Markus Krösche recently rebelled against such speculation, stressing that the Frenchman could become Eintracht’s top scorer next season. The praised himself was more reserved on Wednesday: “I have a contract here, so there is an option, yes.” But now is not the right time to talk about the future. His full focus is on the final.
It could depend on the French
There, Kolo Muani meets another exceptional French player – Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku. Kolo Muani singled out fellow French defender Evan N’Dicka for the weekend. “He held off Nkunku well in the first leg.” The German cup final will also be decided on the performance of the French. “I don’t know if the national coach is in the stadium, but he shouldn’t miss the game,” Frankfurt’s striker told Didier Deschamps.
It doesn’t seem to matter to him who is watching, what speculation there is about him, or what’s at stake. For Kolo Muani, the pressure never seems to be a burden.
