Eintracht Frankfurt chief defends Nnamdi Collins after German outlets treatment

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Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krösche has defended defender Nnamdi Collins following criticism of his debut for Germany.

Collins, 21, earned his first senior cap in Germany’s 2-0 defeat to Slovakia on Friday but was substituted at half-time after struggling against David Hancko, who scored the opener.

The Düsseldorf-born centre-back, deployed at right-back, received heavy criticism in the German press for looking unprepared at international level.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Krösche said the backlash was unfair.

“It was his first game and there were a lot of other players on the pitch with much more experience,” Krösche said.

“There wasn’t much of an effort to integrate Nnamdi well. Under the circumstances, he did well enough. A young player needs a solid structure around him to deliver his best performance.”

The Frankfurt executive highlighted Collins’ rapid progress in the last 18 months and urged patience.

“It was his first cap at senior level. He can take positives from the loss. He just needs to keep working,” Krösche added.