Eintracht Frankfurt vs VfB Stuttgart preview - Veh to face former side

Posted Friday, October 24, 2014 by PA

Coach Armin Veh makes his return to Eintracht Frankfurt this Saturday, perhaps wondering whether he made the right decision to leave the club in the summer.

Veh spent three years with Frankfurt, guiding the Eagles to promotion back to the Bundesliga and then straight into the Europa League in their first year back in the top flight.

He announced last winter that he was not going to extend his contract beyond the season, and left after an emotional send-off in May, taking over at Stuttgart a month later.

"I'm never going to forget the farewell I was given," Veh said at a press conference. "It's not normal to part company in such a way.

"I would be lying if I said this was a normal game for me. It was an emotional time in Frankfurt, after all."

Four months on, Frankfurt are eighth in the Bundesliga with 12 points while Stuttgart are languishing in 15th with six, but Veh is convinced he made the right move and that his side will pick up the points sooner or later.

"Apart from the game against Bayern (when they lost 2-0), we were always very close to getting a win," Veh added. "Now it's time we did get something."

Frankfurt's good start to the season can be put down to the experienced man they hired to replace Veh.

Former Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf will be involved in his 750th game this Saturday, either as a player or coach.

"That's scary," he told bundesliga.de. "But I love this job."

Schaaf spent two decades with Bremen before taking a one-year break from the game, returning in May to take charge of Frankfurt and carry on the positive work of his predecessor.

"It's certainly a special game for Eintracht and all the people who spent these last three years working with Armin," he said.

"I don't see Armin as my predecessor, but rather as a colleague, like he was for many years before too."