Eintracht today against Paderborn: Why Braunschweig is hunter instead of hunter

By Tobias Knaack

The early Sunday afternoon in Münster showed how much pictures can be like: the heads below, emptiness in the facial expression. Again not won and above all: lost again. Frustration and grief in blue and yellow.

The pictures that they shouldn’t have been from Westphalia, they could also have come from Karlsruhe or Darmstadt or from the games at home against Bielefeld or Elversberg. Five games, one counter, disappointments in the feeling of endless loop. At least someone seems to have been stuck hard on the Watschn Ringary button.

The BTSV showed a weak performance in the Westphalia and was deserved to deserve the SCP. The series of victory is thus in six games.

Eintracht for almost two months without victory

But why is it that after the good start under Backhaus with two wins from two games and a strong cup appearance against defending champion Stuttgart, has been without victory for almost two months after the good start under Backhaus?

“So far, Backhaus has not managed to implement the central principles of his announced ‘hunting football’ holistically and stable in the team.”

Analysis of the Global Soccer Networks

According to the Global Soccer Network (GSN), this has many factors in detail, in summary, the data experts in their analysis come to the conclusion that the transformation of the playing style at the BTSV has not yet been achieved. Backhaus would like to have a “hunting football” – which is effective and martial -sounding and martial. With good, consistent implementation, this is characterized by five key features: intensive start -up and high pressing, vertical and direct offensive game, high intensity and duel, switching game and dribbling strength.

Backhaus’ idea has not yet arrived at the BTSV

However, the GSN intermediate conclusion after seven second division match days is clear: “Backhaus has so far not been able to implement the central principles of his announced ‘hunting football’ holistically and stable in the team.” You can use the data to determine that the five key features “three (pressing, verticality, switch) are only implemented in a fragmentation or not at all”; that “one (intensity) is only recognizable in phases”; And that “only one (dribbling activity) is clearly visible” – “but isolated and not embedded in a functioning game context”.

In other words, the idea is not anchored functionally. The “Dynamic Concept” fails “on the pitch on the square in the lack of structure, lack of coordination and tactical coherence”, according to the analysis of the GSN experts.

Construction sites on offensive and defensive

Two examples of the “non -coherent game” from Münster: the first goal, the right side was completely exposed because the pressing was completely ineffective. In the second, none of the Braunschweiger came into a duel against the – admittedly – beautiful combination of the Prussia.

This results in the image of a large construction site – with many craftsmen, but not working together. Sven Köhler summed up after the game: “Of course we have many changes through failures, but at the end of the day there is every second division player.” The captain coined this primarily to the mew offensive efforts.

An assessment that is underpinned by the data: in many relevant attack statistics – from successful passes to the last third to the expected goals to the scoring shots in the penalty area – the bakery team occupies one of the back places in the league comparison. Midfielder Max Marie stated in the NDR conversation that “intensity and courage would have been lacking in particular against the SCP to drive the game forward and score goals”.

But it also crunches elsewhere: In the previous week against Elversberg, goalkeeper Ron-Thorben Hoffmann had described in particular the defending before the second goal as a “children’s birthday”. Sports director Benjamin Kessel now asked the “Braunschweiger Zeitung”: “We have to stop getting simple goals.”

Looking for structure and system

All statements are correct, but only depend on the “overarching” problem. The “lions” want to be hunters, instead they are hunted of their own idea and the adjustment difficulties. Because – apart from the intensity and a certain dribbling strength – according to the data, structural deficits make life difficult.

To stay in the picture from the animal world, it is not recognizable in the pack. Rather, it is a high, almost restless activity of a loose coherent network of individuals. An expression of this is the multitude of system changes.

Of course, the many references contributed to this in the early phase of the season. Already after the Elversberg game, Florian Flick had noted that import was made so much more difficult and that no reliability and stability could be found in the processes and distances. And the team therefore not to automate. Marie confessed in conversation with the NDR that he had the feeling in Münster that the team had somehow played “five steps at the wrong distance”. See second goal.

The Lower Saxony have been without victory for five competitive games. One of the reasons: the high number of dismissal.

Uncertainties with fatal consequences

Also a possible result of the fact that no system has yet been carried out over a quarter of the seven games played so far. For the players, this means that you have to get used to new roles, relays and processes.

The consequences: uncertainty in the position game, both on the defensive and in the game structure. There are gaps in the room layout, the pressing does not look synchronized. Neither starting nor moving out or having a ball circulation work permanently. The resulting picture: chaos. And with it a blatant difference to the approach under predecessor Daniel Schering.

The changed approach is deliberately wanted and takes time without question. And yet after a narrow quarter of the season, Braunschweig currently looks like a team that is in constant response to the game instead of actively shaping it.

Eintracht reacts more than it acts

An indication: the very unequal distribution of ball gains. While Eintracht occupies a top position in its own third (fourth place), the team in the opposing third only ranks in midfield (twelve place). The number of reconquest after ball losses in the front third is included. This contradicts the self -formulated claim of “hunting football”.

And if sports director Kessel also complains about the game that he was “lacking the fire in the group”, this is another widely audible alarm signal. Especially since the Eintracht, as already denounced by Köhler, has lost the hoped -for – and necessary – intensity, especially in second rounds. “The pace is high at the beginning, then the system breaks in,” analyzing the GSN experts.

Hoffmann demands results

The game idea is different, but a lot may have felt emotionally in the past few weeks as “forward into the past”. Just like in the exhausting seasons full of relegation worries.

Keeper Hoffmann had already asked for the SVE after the home defeat that the results had to be returned again. He also knows the psychological aspects of downward spirals from the past few years too well.

Braunschweig receives top team Paderborn

Today SC Paderborn is coming to the stadium on Hamburger Straße (6.30 p.m., in the NDR LiveCenter). And two encouragers before the game with the fifth in the table: that midfield strategist Lino Tempelmann in Münster has returned to the final phase after four games of injury -related abstinence. And that against the East Westphalia in the past season, an eminently important home win was achieved.

At that time, the success was the start for a mini series, which ultimately made it possible to stay in the relegation. Even now it would be time. And to really become a hunter.

The most important questions and answers to work between NDR and GSN.