“Tie up the opponents” | OneFootball

Dino Toppmöller discusses Thursday’s UEFA Europa League match against FC RFS as his side enter a busy period. Can Uzun looks ahead to his full debut.

For the first time, Eintracht Frankfurt face Latvian opponents in European competition. On Thursday 24 October (18:45 CEST), the Eagles host FC RFS. Ahead of the clash with the Riga club, head coach Dino Toppmöller and Can Uzun spoke at the press conference about…

… the current situation

Dino Toppmöller: “We’re all looking forward to this period that’s coming now. Or to use the words of Rasmus Kristensen: it’s awesome that lots of games are coming now. We’ve played two games in the Europa League and got four points on the board. On Thursday we want to take another step towards the last 16. We know it’s a challenge but we’re very confident that we’ll put in a good performance on the pitch. The fact it's another sellout is a huge incentive to go the extra mile. At the end of it, we really want to have seven points and look at the table with a good feeling.”

Can Uzun: “Full stadium at home, European nights – it doesn’t get any better. We're all really excited, want to take the next step and deliver a good performance."

… Can Uzun

Dino Toppmöller: “Can will start against Riga. He’s made really good progress in recent weeks and trained well. He’s shown in his recent substitute appearances that he can have an impact. I also like his energy and aggression out of possession; the way he closes down opponents and puts them under pressure. I’ve got a very good feeling that he’ll bring that from the start.”

Can Uzun: “Every player would like to start every game. I trust myself, I trust the coach. We’ve come up with a plan together, everything’s in hand. It’s very nice that I get to start, I’m very excited.”

… opponents RFS

Dino Toppmöller: “They tend to play in a 4-4-2 in the domestic league, but in Europe they’ve tended to go with five at the back. They have big, strong defenders – around 1.95 metres tall on average. Both strikers are very dangerous, so we’ll need to be good in our defensive cover and sharp. We need to tie up the opponents and put them under pressure, so that they don't get into dangerous areas – assert our presence from the start.”

Can Uzun: “We don’t underestimate anyone and will approach it like we do every match. We go on the pitch to win, and we’ll show that.”