Eintracht Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner fears that the exclusion of Bundesliga fans from the round of 16 second leg in the Champions League at top Italian club SSC Naples will not affect his team's performance.
"The fact that the fans are missing has no influence on the game. Of course we would have liked to have had them there, but we cannot influence it," said the 48-year-old football teacher before the game in the evening (9 p.m. / DAZN).
After an urgent application by Eintracht before the administrative court of Campania was successful and the ban on people residing in Germany was declared invalid, the Prefecture of Naples on Sunday issued a ticket ban exclusively for supporters from the city of Frankfurt. A Frankfurt complaint against it was dismissed. Eintracht had previously announced that they would waive the away contingent of 2,700 tickets to which they were entitled.
Eintracht coach criticizes UEFA president
Glasner did not want to comment on the unprecedented process, which UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin also sharply criticized on Tuesday. "I'm responsible for sporting things. I stay out of sports politics," said the Eintracht coach. He knows, however, that the Frankfurt supporters have their hearts in the team.
The Frankfurters have to catch up with the leaders in Serie A from a 0-2 deficit from the first leg. Glasner has developed a match plan for this. "We've come up with something that we think fits," he said.
Gasner and the money factor
Even after winning the Europa League, Glasner does not yet see his club as part of the German football elite. "As Eintracht we are between eighth and tenth in the money list, so like many other clubs we have to find other ways to give ourselves an advantage on the pitch," said the Austrian in an interview with "Süddeutsche Newspaper".
The Hessians won the Europa League in 2022 - including after victories over FC Barcelona and Glasgow Rangers - and are therefore allowed to start in the Champions League for the first time. In this Bundesliga season, Eintracht is on course to return to international competition.
Glasner sees finances as a central criterion in football. "The most promising success factor remains money. Whoever has the highest budget is usually at the top of the table, just like FC Bayern has been for ten years. You still have to do good work, no question, but the financial strength allows you to do a To have a squad with which other football is possible," said the 48-year-old. You also have to be able to afford the playful ease.
