Former Coach Dino Toppmöller assesses Eintracht Frankfurt's defensive weakness
Dino Toppmöller, the former coach of Eintracht Frankfurt, has criticized the team's defense in the previous season in an interview with the French newspaper L'Equipe. The 45-year-old coach argued that the defense was not only weakened by the summer transfers and the load management.
Toppmöller names two reasons
Toppmöller named two reasons that contributed to the flood of goals: the summer transfers and the load management. "We sold our best defender and didn't replace him against my advice, and then our regular goalkeeper Kevin Trapp moved to Paris FC", criticized the coach. The "best defender" in this case is likely to be Tuta, who was sold by the Hessen to Qatar in August 2025 for 15 million euros.
No scapegoating, but a warning
The interview does not read like a scapegoating, but rather like a liberated speaking. As a coach of Eintracht, Toppmöller always kept his criticism of the team's transfer policy to himself – unlike predecessor Oliver Glasner. That Toppmöller now explains himself retrospectively can also be seen as preparation for the upcoming season against Lens.
What's next?
The RC Lens, which had the second-best defense in the Ligue 1 in the previous season, will play in the Champions League in the upcoming season. "Last year, Lens had a great season, but with only one game per week. This year, we will have three games per week. We want to profit from it, but we must be physically and mentally prepared and accept the rotations", warned Toppmöller.
Current standing
Eintracht Frankfurt is currently in 8th place in the Bundesliga table, with 44 points from 34 games. The team has scored 61 goals and conceded 65 goals in the previous season. The Hessen are 45 points behind the league leaders Bayern München.
Next fixture
The next fixture of Eintracht Frankfurt will be against SC Paderborn 07 on November 7, 2026, so the Hessen will have to travel to Paderborn in the coming week.
