Youth League: Eintracht Frankfurt's coach Agovic is tingling

Created: 07/09/2022 06:54

By: Johannes Goetze

Damir Agovic is the coach of the Eintracht Frankfurt U19s and starts with his team in the UEFA Youth League against talent factory Sporting.

© Charlie Rolff

The Champions League anthem will not only be heard today for the first time in the Frankfurt city forest, but also at 12 noon in the Dreieich sports park.

Eintracht U19s also meet Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Youth League.

A very special day for Damir Agovic, who lives in Bad Soden-Salmünster, as Eintracht coach.

"I'm already tingling when I hear the Champions League anthem on TV, now I'll be on the sidelines.

That's something special not only for me, but above all for the players, but also for the whole club," says Agovic, who has been preparing intensively with his team for Eintracht Frankfurt's first game in the Youth League since Sunday.  

Eintracht Frankfurt starts in the UEFA Youth League against talent factory Sporting

Because in the Youth League he has a different squad at his disposal than in the junior Bundesliga for several reasons: On the one hand, the match day squad can be supplemented by three players from the 2003 vintage, who are no longer eligible to play for the juniors in Germany.

On the other hand, Eintracht can only use six newcomers and must also pay attention to “local player regulations”. 

A handicraft lesson for Agovic, which he is used to.

Because at Eintracht Frankfurt, a lot has happened under the direction of Markus Krösche (sports director), Alexander Richter (head of the youth academy) and Patrick Ochs (sports director U16 to U21): Not least through the return to the game of the U21, which is currently the Hessenliga, there is a much higher focus on the individual development of the players than on the results.

For example, Agovic has little or no access to the talents Matteo Bignetti, Mehdi Loune, Divaio Bobson, Nacho Ferri and, above all, Marcel Wenig. They play and train with the professionals or the U21s instead – although they would be eligible to play for the U19s.

To person:

Damir Agovic (33) returned to Eintracht for the fourth time before this season.

He played stage one as a player, but had to give up his shoes in 2010 due to an injury – at the age of just 21.

The return took place in 2012: he was hired for a year as an assistant coach of the U19 at Eintracht, in 2018 he stayed for two years, now as a coach of the U15.

Now he is head of the U19s in the up-and-coming NLZ of Eintracht.

In the meantime, Agovic, who was born in Montenegro and grew up in Steinau an der Straße, worked for SV Wehen Wiesbaden, Energie Cottbus, the Qatari club Al-Khor and Viktoria Fulda.

Agovic lives with his wife Dzenada and their five-year-old daughter Lamija in Bad Soden-Salmünster. 

"The approach is that we finally develop players for the Bundesliga team again and not that Mr. Agovic and his team become German champions," explains Agovic unequivocally and continues: "You used to have to win games at any price.

Now it's all about individual development in the junior division.

When we think a player is underachieved on their team, they move up.

We want to promote top talent and not necessarily leave it in their squad.” 

Agovic follows the same line as Ochs, with whom he has had a close relationship for years: "Patrick has twice wanted to bring me to Dreieich, now he has persuaded me to return to Frankfurt.

We just tick the same way, think football 100 percent identically.

We can deal with it well when the results don't add up because the focus isn't on them.” The start in the U19 Bundesliga was sluggish.

Also because Agovic acts almost exclusively with a younger squad. 

UEFA Youth League:

The UEFA Youth League was introduced in 2013 and takes place alongside the Champions League.

The 32 youth teams from the clubs involved in the Champions League group stage and the 32 youth champions from the strongest nations according to the UEFA club coefficient are eligible to start.

Eintracht U19s meet in their group like the pros against Sporting Lisbon, Olympique Marseille and Tottenham Hotspur.

The group winner qualifies for the round of 16, the group runners-up can still move into the round of 16 via a play-off.

Eintracht plays their home games in the Dreieich sports park.

There hasn't been a German winner yet, the defending champion is Benfica Lisbon. 

It's different today: Marcel Wenig, for example, but Nacho Ferri, Mehdi Loune and Divaio Bobson are also expected in the squad.

Players who are expected to make the leap into the Bundesliga.

“Against Sporting they can compete with the elite, show themselves and prove themselves.

That's not a matter of course," says Agovic, full of anticipation - also for the game in the evening: The two youth teams watch it together in the city park.

Tickets are available at the box office, admission is at 10.30 a.m. in the Dreieicher Sportpark.

Photos of SV Steinbach vs. Eintracht Frankfurt U21

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