Eintracht Frankfurt have been very busy this summer, new arrivals usually mean the players can choose their number, but there is one popular number that has been left untouched, the number 10.
It is said that when he arrived from Nürnberg, Can Uzun wanted to wear the 10 but had to instead settle for the number 20. While other recent players such as Randal Kolo Muani, Daichi Kamada and Jesper Lindstrøm have also worn different numbers.
When speaking to Bild, Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krösche revealed why none of the new signings were given the number:
“I have clear principles when it comes to the number 10 shirt. The player has to earn the right to wear it. The number is something special, and is associated with a lot of tradition, especially for us, if you think of Jürgen Grabowski, for example.”
Jürgen Grabowski is a Frankfurt legend, the forward was part of the side that won Frankfurt’s maiden European trophy when they won the UEFA Cup in 1980, Grabowski played 545 games for Die Adler. He was also part of the West Germany side that won the World Cup in 1974 as well as the Euros in 1972. Grabowski passed away in 2022 a couple of months before Frankfurt’s Europa League triumph that same year.
The last player to wear the number was winger Filip Kostic before he moved to Juventus and before him was Marco Fabian. It is clear that Krösche is adopting a policy where the players need to contribute with goals and assists as well as winning overall to earn the right to wear the number 10.
GGFN | Jack Meenan