When Jurgen Klinsmann moved to Tottenham Hotspur almost thirty years ago, there was not exactly enthusiasm in England. The blond German was known for the fact that he sometimes fell theatrically to the ground in the penalty area with minimal touches and wanted to get a penalty kick. That didn't go down well on the island when Klinsmann arrived there. In England, they call such players "divers", divers. The striker met the rejection with humor. During his introduction, he laughingly asked the journalists whether there were diving schools in London.
Tobias Rabe
Editor in charge of Sport Online.
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But Klinsmann didn't need any water to dive. When he first scored for Tottenham, he threw himself on his stomach on the pitch and slid towards the cheering fans. It became his trademark. And since Klinsmann scored often, he had quickly won the hearts of the English because of his humorous handling of his flaw. This also applies to Oliver Glasner with the Frankfurt fans. Since the dream trip across the continent last season, which ended with victory in the Europa League, the coach has a permanent place in the heart of Europe.
When Frankfurt celebrated a party in Barcelona on their European trip just over a year ago, Glasner slid across the pitch for the first time, at that time through a trellis of his players in front of the fan corner. At that time, a seam tore on his pants. During the European Cup triumph in Seville, the parched turf prevented a long slide. But now, on Wednesday evening in Stuttgart, it worked again. Glasner took a run and slid towards the cheering fans. The pants held, only the white shirt, which the Austrian had put on shortly before, got clearly visible lawn stains on his stomach.
"Diver is simply part of it"
By 3 June, they should have disappeared after a wash cycle if the motto that was printed on them comes true: "We saw Eintracht in the final". Because that's where the Frankfurt are once again. After the dramatic 3-2 victory in the semi-finals at VfB Stuttgart, Glasner's team reached the final for the first time since winning the DFB Cup in 2018. Opponent in a month's time is in Berlin's Olympic Stadium Leipzig. This had to be celebrated. "The Diver is simply part of our great triumphs," Glasner said on Sky TV about his slide.
The fact that he showed a copy of Klinsmann in Stuttgart, of all places, where the originator of this celebration began his career, was just one of the many stories of an evening of football that thrilled, even if all those who held it with VfB were disappointed in the end. A breathless game with five goals and a final scene that drove the tension to the extreme were called for. Tiago Tomás' Stuttgart goal (19th minute) was followed by Evan N'Dicka (51'), Daichi Kamada (55') and Randal Kolo Muani (penalty, 77') before Enzo Millot (83') shortened the game.
Deep in injury time, a scream went through the Stuttgart stadium. It was not a cry of terror, but rather one of hope for a penalty. Because the ball had flown to the arm of Frankfurt's Aurélio Buta – and that in the penalty area. Many had seen that, including referee Daniel Schlager. But he was not the only one to ask himself: Was it a punishable handball? Shortly before Buta's touch, VfB striker Serhou Guirassy had slightly changed the direction of the ball. Schlager saw all this again on the screen with the video assistant in his ear, while everyone waited for his decision.