Alphabet Challenge | Part 14, Club 5 | A Big European Opportunity

After 11 years as a Football Manager, Trebor Mahtal celebrated his first national title as he led Universitario to their first Peruvian league win for 22 years in 2035. With a heavy heart, the Zambian left the club at the end of his contract and went in search of his fifth club – having ticked off U, S, L and P on his Alphabet Challenge.

At the end of November 2035, several vacancies were available and Mahtal applied for roles in Europe and North America. He was quickly offered interviews by clubs in Germany, Scotland and England then two in Mexico, and the German club was the first to make an appealing offer. Mahtal delayed it for a week but, realistically, that was by far the best option on the table. So Mahtal was heading back to Europe with a significant pay increase, earning £12,500 per week.

Who Are Eintracht Frankfurt?

Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, the fifth-most populous city in Germany. The club was founded in March 1899 and was a founding Bundesliga member. It also has 150,000 members, making it the third largest in Germany. Frankfurt was the German champion in 1959, the champion of Europe in 1960 and won the UEFA Cup/Europa League in 1980 and 2022.

This move represents a massive step up for Mahtal, joining a club with a 4-star reputation and plays at the impressive 58,000-capacity Deutsche Bank Park. It also has 18 youth facilities, 17 training facilities, 14 youth recruitment and 13 junior coaching. However, it has a few financial issues with just £200k in the bank and overspending the £1.39m wage bill by £180k. Even more concerning, the club sits 14th in Bundesliga with just 4 wins and 14 points from their 13 matches.

The best player at Frankfurt is wantaway 21-year-old Iranian centre back Mohammad Reza Savari, who looks like an elite player in the making. Other key players will be Mexican left back Baltazar Esquivel, long-serving right back Elias Baum and captain Hugo Larsson, midfielders Alejandro Lisa and Aldin Crnogorceivic and 30-year-old striker Nelson Weiper. They also had a few promising talents in defender Alberto Ramón, Japanese holding midfielder Takaaki Wada, 17-year-old defender Lothar Nolte, winger Daniel Walter and model citizen attacker Filippo Muratore, who was on loan at Heidenheim but was recalled in January. But the biggest worry was the lack of a half-decent goalkeeper, with 36-year-old Kamil Grabara a dubious first choice.

Getting Started In Germany

Frankfurt were predicted to finish 6th in Bundesliga, but finished 13th in two of the last three seasons and haven’t finished above 7th since 2028. That told Mahtal he had plenty of talent to work with, and he should easily be able to achieve the board’s ambition to avoid relegation.

Mahtal’s first taste of top-tier European football saw three big games in a week. He began with a trip to Werder Bremen in which Frankfurt’s players were appalling, only had their first shot after 75 minutes and were lucky to lose 2-0. Next up was a trip to 8th-place Hertha, where they conceded the first shot but quickly levelled with Weiper’s penalty. Mahtal couldn’t believe what he was seeing as Hertha somehow scored their second shot and Frankfurt missed a host of chances and lost 2-1. That piled the pressure on for his first home game against 16th-place Hoffenheim, which they began better and took a deserved lead through winger Mattéo Demange. The lead was doubled as Larsson won a penalty that Weiper tucked into the top corner and Frankfurt eased to a much-needed 2-0 win that took them 5 points clear of trouble heading into a three-week winter break.

Mahtal wasted no time clearing out players who weren’t good enough or were too old. He sold 19 players for a potential profit of around £73m, led by 30-year-old Baum going to Arsenal for up to £47m and Grabara being flogged to Saudi for £1.4m. That slashed a huge £600k off the weekly wage budget, immediately fixing the financial mess the club had somehow created. He then added one exciting player, beating Europe’s finest to the signature of Elche’s wonderkid winger Iván Alonso for £13m. That signing allowed Mahtal to play a fairly balanced 4-5-1, which he’d settled on over the winter break.

Frankfurt resumed Bundesliga with a vital 2-0 win over Karlsruhe thanks to late goals by Canadian left back Marco Ventre and Larsson, then got thumped 4-1 at Bayern. Alonso scored a wonderful solo goal on his debut, picking up the ball out wide, then beating four players and calmly tucking it into the bottom corner, before versatile midfielder Manuel Bechtold completed a dominant 2-0 win over Schalke. Weiper’s late goal nicked a 1-0 over Koln, which lifted Frankfurt into the top half in early February, and any relegation concerns looked long-gone.

They continued to be strong at home, including Alonso creating both goals and Weiper scoring the winner to down Leipzig 2-1, but pretty average away. That home form moved Frankfurt to the verge of European qualification, and a 5-0 final-day win at relegated Karlsruhe secured 8th place, which saw them just miss out on the Conference League. They finished with 50 points after 15 wins, 5 draws and 14 defeats, scoring 48 and conceding 42. However, in Mahtal’s 21 games, they took 36 points with 11 wins. At the top of the league, Bayern reclaimed the title from Dortmund, who came 3rd and lost manager Niko Kovac to Newcastle, lifting their ninth title in 13 seasons during this save.

First Taste of European Football

Frankfurt were faring much better in Europe, sitting 7th after five Europa League group games. Mahtal’s time in Germany began at home to Real Betis and a late Weiper goal edged a 2-1 win. In the new year, they lost 2-0 at Atalanta but new boy Alonso nicked a 1-0 win at Levski, which saw them finish 10th, just 1 point outside the top eight. Dinamo Bucuresti followed in the playoff round, and they cruised through 5-2 on aggregate. However, the run ended there as they got the toughest draw against Man United and exited 6-2 on aggregate.

Promising Start To Life In Germany

Mahtal was pleased with the impact he’d had at a struggling Frankfurt. He’d phased out some of the bad eggs and reduced the average age of the squad, but knew he still had plenty of work ahead. Weiper led the way with 20 goals in 43 games followed by Larsson (9) and Demange (7), while Lisa was the leading creative force with 8 assists and Alonso impressed with 3 goals and 7 assists in 16 games.