Dino Toppmöller defends Eintracht Frankfurt's defensive record

Former Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Dino Toppmöller, now manager of French Ligue 1 side RC Lens, gave an extensive interview to L’Équipe defending the defensive performance of the German club during his tenure. He highlighted that Frankfurt ranked sixth and fifth best in the Bundesliga for defence in his first two seasons, but slipped to a league‑high 39 goals conceded in the first 18 matches of his third campaign.

Toppmöller blamed the decline on the sale of defender Willian Pacho and the departure of goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, moves he said were made against his advice and left the back line weakened. He also addressed criticism over a 6‑4 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach, arguing that rotating the squad after leading 6‑0 was necessary to protect players for an upcoming Champions League match. The interview marked his first public comments on the Frankfurt exit, which occurred in January, and he reiterated that the defensive statistics of his early years had been misrepresented by later poor results.