Become A Football Legend

"Hello and welcome to the Waldstadion as we wait for kick-off in what is poised to be an unloseable game for Eintracht Frankfurt. But this is the Bundesliga, and anything can happen. I am your host for today, Elmar Paulke, and I am joined by the commentator Frederick Harder and expert analyst Moritz Volz. And you're watching DAZN Germany Sunday live football."

"Thank you for having us, Elmar. Eintracht Frankfurt are clear favourites in this tie and they would cherish a win. Winless in 2 Bundesliga matches and 3 in all competitions now. If they are unable to secure a win here, they could end up going 5 Bundesliga matches without a win because their next two games are obviously against teams that are objectively better than them.

This match is kind of a mood-setter for them, so they have to win it. They travel to Bavaria next week to face Bayern, then host Leverkusen the week after that, and in those two games they are gonna be the underdogs," Harder, the play-by-play commentator, stated.

"That's right, Frederick. Eintracht currently sit third in the table with 41 points, just 6 points behind second-place Leverkusen and 14 points behind Bayern. With both clubs dropping points in their nil-nil draw yesterday, this is also the perfect opportunity for Eintracht to close the gap a little," Volz, the analyst, added.

"You're right to point that out, Moritz. A win today is not just important to break the winless streak and build momentum in anticipation of the next couple of fixtures, it will also narrow the gap between Frankfurt and Leverkusen to just 2 points. They will also want to widen the points gap with clubs below them like Leipzig and Freiburg to keep themselves in contention for the Champions League spot next season."

The Deutsche Bank Park was packed full. Over 57,000 fans in attendance as they cheered their team on. They had been on a run of sub-optimal form, but they were third in the league table.

And most of all, their very own academy player had been recognized as the best player in the league in the first month of his debut.

It was a source of great pride.

Lukas received a round of applause as he stepped onto the pitch with the Player-of-the-Month award. He raised it up as the fans clapped, and he applauded them right back.

His teammates patted him on the shoulder as he took in the moment.

He later handed the trophy to a staff member and went to join his teammates in their warm-up routines.

Paulke: "Your Bundesliga Player of the Month for the month of January 2025, 16-year-old Lukas Brandt."

Volz: "There never has been a more deserving winner for this award. And to do it in his first month of professional football, that is just unbelievable."

Harder: "I believe Eintracht Frankfurt has a wonderkid in their hands. It's their job to nurture him into a superstar. He has all the qualities, he just needs the proper guidance."

Paulke: "Frederick, do you think he will get into the current German squad?"

Harder: "Well, with the form he was in last month, who would keep him out of it? We do have a lot of attacking midfielders, which is his official position. But if you watch him on the pitch, he plays almost everywhere. He's two-footed, very fast, leaves defenders perplexed in 1v1s. I don't think there's a reason he wouldn't make the team."

Paulke: "Moritz, do you share the sentiment?"

Volz: "I am taking a wait-and-see stance. I think Nagelsmann will wanna try out the established names first. Wirtz, Musiala, Havertz, they've been playing at the top level for their clubs for some time now. I do think he will make the squad, I just think he might be used primarily as a sub. But that all depends on if his current form continues. He's still 16, there is no rush."

Paulke: "Yeah, having too many good players in a position is always better than having too few, I guess... I'll assume coach Nagelsmann thinks the same.

Anyway, kick-off in ten minutes. Lukas Brandt back from an ankle sprain that sidelined him for two weeks. He is back on the bench right now, and Toppmöller will be so glad to have him fit and ready to go. We will be back for kick-off after the short commercial break."

* * *

Lukas walked towards the bench with a bottle of water stuck under his arm and his red training bib on as the fans just by the edge of the pitch clapped while he walked past them.

He was on the bench for the day, but that was not unusual since he had just returned from an injury.

"And we're off to this game with a huge cheer from close to 60,000 fans. Toppmöller has fielded his best fully fit players in this game with a 3-4-3 formation, which we will expect to switch to a 5-2-2-1 when Frankfurt have to defend," the commentator stated, listing the starting lineups for both teams as Holstein Kiel kicked off the game.

Eintracht Frankfurt had this starting XI:

Goalkeeper: Trapp

Defenders: Collins, Tuta, Theate

Midfielders: Kristensen, Hojlund, Larsson, Brown

Forwards: Uzun, Götze, Ekitike

For Holstein Kiel, they went with a 3-1-4-2:

GK: Dähne

DF: Komenda, Zec, and Nekic

MF: Remberg, Porath, Holtby, Gigovic, and Becker

Forwards: Arp and Harres

In the first minute, there was already a foul by Götze in an attempt to win back possession as quick as possible. Holstein Kiel was a team in the relegation zone, so it started as expected.

Frankfurt kept the ball, cycling it around with possession stats hitting 75% in just the opening 15 minutes of the game.

In the 18th minute, they opened the score.

A cross from Kristensen from the right flank towards the left-hand side of the box met Brown's head.

Brown gently nudged the ball towards the middle of the box where Larsson kneed the ball past Dähne and into the back of the net.

"It's 1-0 for Eintracht Frankfurt! A well-deserved lead as they have been undoubtedly the best team on the pitch in the opening 20 minutes of this game."

Lukas, on the bench, clapped as the fans cheered to celebrate the goal.

After the first goal, Eintracht Frankfurt did not take their foot off the gas. They knew a win was needed, and they were prepared to do everything they had to do to extend the gap.

They moved the ball quicker from the back to the front.

Can Uzun proved to be a revelation in the game. He took on defenders, picked up passing lanes, and made darting runs.

He wasn't on the score sheet, not yet at least, but he was the most dangerous player on the pitch at that moment.

In the 36th minute, Eintracht won a corner.

The corner was taken short as the ball was passed to Uzun just at the flank.

Becker tried to close the crossing angle, but after a couple of dummies, Uzun sent a great lifted cross into the box and Tuta volleyed it into the ground.

The ball bounced over the goalkeeper's head, through his hands, and into the net."

"TUTAAA!! It's 2-0 for Frankfurt. The perfect half!"

Toppmöller pumped his fist as the bench players, including Lukas, celebrated the second goal.

"I want to get in on the action," Lukas thought after the game was restarted.

He had not played a game of football in two weeks, and he was starting to feel weird.

In the LTC, he had been swamped with "special training" that left him at utter exhaustion after every session.

It was so horrible that each session only lasted 10 hours, he spent the remaining 86 hours of his time at the LTC just recovering from the 10 hours of training.

Even though he hadn't done the special training for long, he could see his stats gradually start to rise. He could also feel himself getting better.

But now, he was ready to put that improvement to the test. To see just how much faster the training had made him.

The first half continued in a similar vein. Kiel did get some chances, but they were few and far between, and they couldn't make any of them count.

In the 45th minute, Frankfurt had a chance to seal the deal in the first half after a penalty was awarded when a Kiel defender inadvertently blocked Ekitike's shot with a flailing arm. Ekitike's penalty, however, was saved as the goalkeeper guessed the right way and the shot lacked the power.

"And that's it for the first half. Larsson with the opener, Tuta doubles the lead, Ekitike has his penalty saved in the final minute of the first half. It should have been more, but Frankfurt has a comfortable 2-goal lead going into the second half, you expect them to see this game out."

The home team's players walked into the tunnel, all smiles as the fans applauded them.

That smile, however, was completely wiped off their faces when they walked out 15 minutes later to begin the second half.