Eintracht Frankfurt hail “Marmoush replacement” Mario Götze after massive UEL win

After squandering the lead against FC Union Berlin in the Bundesliga last Sunday, Eintracht Frankfurt could not have hoped for a better reaction in Thursday night’s Europa League fixture. In point of fact, head coach Dino Toppmöller literally labelled it “the perfect reaction” in both his post-match interview and at the press conference. Eintracht are headed to the Europa League Finals behind four exceptional goals in their 4-1 victory (6-2 aggregate) over Ajax Amsterdam. 

Virtually everything went right for the German 2021/22 Europa League Champions. Young SGE prospect Jean-Matteo Bahoya and Hugo Ekitiké combined in elegant fashion for 1-0 in the 7th minute. After that, it was German footballing legend Mario Götze’s time to shine – Götze would score two of the remaining three goals. Bahoya and Ekitiké also combined again to net the decisive 3-0 in the 67th.

Götze’s sparkling performance remained the main talking point for both Toppmöller, Eintracht board-member-for-sport Markus Krösche, and Götze’s fellow German footballing legend Lothar Matthäus. The full crowd gave Götze a memorable standing ovation when he exited the pitch in the 85th.

The 32-year-old – written off by Borussia Dortmund at the end of the 2019/20 campaign – continues to defy the odds. Dortmund allowed Götze to depart on an expiring contract. The 2014 German World Cup winner remained jobless until Ajax Amsterdam picked him up as a free agent well after the autumn 2020 transfer deadline.

Since Frankfurt took a chance and brought him back to German football, Götze has obstinately refused to go into gentle retirement. This year, he’s scored four goals and registered three assists in several clutch performances among his 29 appearances across all competitions. 

his two superb goals. It was his first double pack in the Eintracht jersey.

“It’s amazing what Mario does with the ball,” Matthäus noted on RTL, “He doesn’t just play football, he enjoys it too. That’s what makes him so strong.”

“Mario is an extremely important player,” Krösche added in his RTL interview. “Especially with a young team, you need players who can provide stability. His two goals were superb has scored superbly both times.”

“Mario plays very much for the team, without trying to take centre stage and shine,” Toppmöller said. “Mario is a Champions League player. He possesses footballing calm.”

Toppmöller joked a little more at the press conference, noting that Götze – who wears the no. 27 on his tricot – should drop the first digit from the back of his jersey. That would leave him with the no. 7, the tricot number of the departed Omar Marmoush.

“He can follow in Marmoush’s footsteps,” Toppmöller laughed. 

GGFN | Peter Weis