Glasner dampens expectations of World Cup hero Götze

With a wink, Eintracht Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner dampened expectations of new signing Mario Götze. “Mario isn’t that tall, just over 1.70 m. Lucas Alario is therefore a much larger transfer,” joked the Bundesliga club coach on Monday. On Tuesday (1.30 p.m.) the 30-year-old Götze will be officially presented.

For the 2014 World Cup final goalscorer, who switched from PSV Eindhoven to Main, the first few weeks are about getting to know “the group and the game system”, said Glasner, who is looking at the experience of the offensive player with a view to participating for the first time of Hessen in the Champions League. He wants to try to incorporate Götze’s strengths into the “working system” of the Europa League winner.

The ex-world champion and the Leverkusen Alario are among the most prominent Frankfurt transfers. If no other regular players leave, “we won’t do anything anymore. Then we’ve strengthened fantastically,” said Glasner. The future of Filip Kostic, who is associated with a move to Juventus Turin, is open.

Götze will be there for the first team training session on Tuesday (11:00 a.m.). On Monday, the first performance tests were on the program. Kostic, like national goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, should return to Frankfurt on July 7, explained Glasner. The SBU will have to do without newcomer Aurelio Buta for a longer period of time, who will “not play before September” after knee surgery. After the noisy end of his career, defender Martin Hinteregger will no longer be there.

Glasner gave the round of 16 as the goal for the premier class, in the league the fight for international places. Eintracht opens the new season on August 5 against record champions Bayern Munich. Shortly thereafter, the Hessians meet Champions League winners Real Madrid in the UEFA Supercup in Helsinki (August 10).