VfL Bochum has a positive record against just four other Bundesliga clubs, including Frankfurt. Coach Thomas Reis has special memories of the Eintracht.
Bochum’s home match against Eintracht Frankfurt will conclude the ninth matchday on Sunday evening. VfL go into the match with a strong desire to celebrate their third win of the season after the important 1:0 in Fürth. It would be the first time since the beginning of 2010 that Bochum have recorded two “threes” in a row in the Bundesliga.
Bochum without five
The personnel conditions are not ideal, but they are not devastating either. After all, five professionals who played an important role in the promotion season are now unavailable.
In Roberts Zulj, who moved to the Emirates, and Simon Zoller (cruciate ligament rupture), the two top scorers of the previous season are missing. Defender Maxim Leitsch has been out since the first matchday, and all-rounder Herbert Bockhorn, who clearly blossomed in the previous season, is also currently unavailable.
Muscular problems slow down Tesche
Robert Tesche, who also played a major role in VfL’s return to the Bundesliga and was voted player of the season by the fans, will also have to miss out. However, the midfielder will be absent against Eintracht due to muscular problems.
At least Cristian Gamboa held out in Fürth after his elbow operation, as if he had never been away. Coach Thomas Reis is also confident about the development of Danny Blum, who is getting better and better, as well as Takuma Asano, who could possibly be in the starting eleven against Eintracht.
Positive record against Eintracht
By the way, the record against Eintracht is extremely positive from Bochum’s point of view. In 60 encounters so far, there have been 23 Bochum victories, 22 defeats and 15 draws; against no other Bundesliga team has VfL celebrated so many victories. This makes Frankfurt one of the four clubs against whom VfL has a positive record: Besides Eintracht, these are Hertha BSC, Bielefeld and Greuther Fürth. Here, however, only the one victory from last Saturday is on the record.
Reis made his debut in Frankfurt kit
Trainer Thomas Reis has a special history with Eintracht, as he made his Bundesliga debut in the Frankfurt jersey on 4 October 1992, when Dragoslav Stepanovic substituted him in the closing stages of the match against Stuttgart (4-0).
“A great experience for me,” says the Bochum coach today, “among all the stars I was of course a small light back then and didn’t have much to say. But at least I was able to learn from some really great players and I took a lot away from that time. “
Between 1990 and 95, Reis played for Eintracht, first as a youth player and then as a professional, playing 16 games in the Bundesliga and scoring two goals.
His next stop after his time at Eintracht was VfL Bochum. Reis stayed here as a player for a total of eight years.
