For the third straight summer, Real Salt Lake is welcoming a European club at Rio Tinto Stadium for an international friendly. Eintracht Frankfurt is no slouch, either. Winners of the 2018 German Cup, Frankfurt is coming off an eighth place finish in the Bundesliga. Returning a strong contingent for the 2018-19 season, Manager Adi Hutter will have an opportunity to get his first look at some new players and how they mix with the established crew he has on his roster on Tuesday in their first preseason friendly.
“Die Adler” (The Eagles) will be without World Cup participants Ante Rebic (Croatia), Marco Fabian (Mexico) and former RSL defender and Academy product Carlos Salcedo (Mexico). There will, however, be some familiar faces in the squad as well and here we have some players to watch among the 24 who made the trip to Utah.
Jonathan de Guzman, MF, No. 6
The Dutch international is the younger brother of former Toronto FC and FC Dallas midfielder Julian de Guzman, but he is notable for much more than his bloodlines. He has journeyed through Holland, Spain, England and Italy before landing in Germany last season, making his mark in the top leagues throughout Europe. He was also on the third-place finishing Netherlands side in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Timothy Chandler, DF, No. 22
Another 2014 World Cup veteran, Chandler has 29 caps for the U.S. A native of Frankfurt, he is living his dream for his hometown club, coming back a second time around after spending four seasons with Nurnberg while honing his craft during the early stages of his career. Now an established pro, he last played for the U.S. in 2016 during its failed bid for the 2018 World Cup.
Sebastian Haller, F, No. 9
A rising talent in his second season with “The Eagles,” the 24-year-old French striker was the club’s leading scorer last season, notching nine goals on the season. He lit up the nets over three seasons with FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie, scoring 41 goals in 82 matches in Holland before landing in Germany prior to the 2017-18 season.
About Eintracht Frankfurt
Founded: 1899
A founding member of the Bundesliga when German’s top division was formed in 1963, the club has spent just six seasons in the second division and is now in its 50th in the first division. A top-half team for most of those years, Eintracht has finished third three times, most recently in 1992-93. The club has won the German Cup (DFB-Pokal) five times – in 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988 and 2018 also winning the German Championship in 1959.
Among the more noteworthy former players include longtime Germany attacking midfielder Andreas Moller and current Germany manager Joachim Low.
