King class instead of 2nd division – Faride Alidou’s football world has turned 180 degrees in recent months. It didn’t take much for him to become Eintracht Frankfurt’s celebrated hero at Tottenham
It seemed almost routine how Faride Alidou was only briefly pleased after his goal in the 86th minute and immediately encouraged his teammates to go back into their own half. After all, it was only 2:3, there was still one goal to make up in the remaining minutes. It was probably the greatest moment in the 21-year-old’s young career. First Champions League game, first goal – and then in London at Tottenham Hotspur.
It’s been five months since Faride Alidou made his last appearance for Hamburger SV, winning 3-2 at Hansa Rostock on matchday 34 of pre-season. As is well known, HSV, the traditional club in his native city, where he played for a total of ten years, had to stay in the 2nd division – Alidou did not. But the leap was greater than initially assumed. When Eintracht made the deal with the quick left winger official in March, the Champions League was still out of the question. It was only the Europa League triumph that completely changed the starting situation.
In the league, Alidou has come in as a wild card five times so far, in the Champions League he has watched four times. The short-term absences of Luca Pellegrini and Ansgar Knauff as well as the course of the game in London were to change that. After just over an hour, Oliver Glasner threw his youngster into the deep end in a difficult position to play: as a track player next to the three-man backline, where both wing runs and defensive cover are expected. “I thought he performed very bravely. He did what we all wanted him to do. He played forward without a care, brought his strengths and his pace,” praised the coach.
There was one strength Glasner didn’t even know he had. His protégé did not score the goal after a run down the wing. Alidou scored with his head. After a corner from Mario Götze, he made a diving run through the centre. “I could not have predicted that he would have such a good header. But I am pleased. It was a very positive performance from him,” Glasner emphasised. It didn’t take much for the debutant to turn the whole game on its head. But Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris was on hand to save Alidou’s shot from the edge of the box in the last minute of stoppage time. A brace to equalise? He probably wouldn’t have dared dream of that himself. From a personal point of view, it was the only blemish on what was otherwise a thoroughly successful evening.
Insecurity on long balls
All this was done by Alidou in an unfamiliar position. In Hamburg, the right-footer usually acted in a much more offensive role, but he still played it quite well against the ball. Especially since he was facing one of the fastest offensive departments in Europe with Spurs. “With the long balls he was still a bit unsure how to act,” added Glasner. Nevertheless, further appearances in this role beckon for the U-21 international.
In recent years, Filip Kostic has been a very attack-minded player in this position. That was one of his great strengths in Eintracht’s system of play. Together with Ansgar Knauff on the right side, Eintracht developed enormous offensive power – one of the keys to winning the European Cup. With the change of Kostic, that has been lost. Both Luca Pellegrini and Christopher Lenz are primarily defensive players at this position. Likewise Kristijan Jakic, who deputised for the injured Knauff on the right.
Knauf will probably be missing until the last games of the first half of the season
The attacking play clearly suffers from this. In perspective, Alidou could be the solution to the problem. It would have its parallel with DFB U-21 teammate Knauff. The player on loan from Dortmund also played most of the time in the BVB youth team on the right wing. Glasner’s move to pull him back a little worked. Right away, Knauff secured a regular spot after his transfer at the beginning of the year. For the time being, however, the 20-year-old, who has recently also played on the left, has to pass. Last Tuesday, he had to stop training. Diagnosis: fascia injury in the thigh. “It will take a little longer,” Glasner predicts. “We hope that Ansgar will be able to play a game or two towards the end of the first half of the season.
