Glasner says Juventus-bound Kostic is a hero for Frankfurt

Oliver Glasner

is sad that

is leaving

Eintracht Frankfurt

, but he is glad that the winger is going to

, where he will be a hero.

Kostic looks like he has played his last game for Frankfurt. The versatile winger was left out of the

Bundesliga

team's Super Cup roster on Wednesday against Real Madrid. Since he moved to Frankfurt from Hamburg in 2018, Kostic has played in and started more games for the club in all competitions than any other player.

Only

Andre Silva

(45 goals) and Luka Jovic (31 goals) have more goals than his 30 goals, and he is way ahead in terms of assists (56) and chances created (420), with 269 of them coming from open play.

Kostic has played 1,702 passes into the opponent's box, including crosses. This is almost 1,300 more than Daichi Kamada, who is in second place. Glasner knows that Kostic, who has done a great job as a wing-back, will be missed a lot. He explained why the move makes him feel sad and happy at the same time.

Glasner told a news conference at Helsinki's Olympic Stadium, "Today I feel like I'm laughing and crying." "Filip made a mark on our offense, and it's never good to lose a player like that.

"It does hurt us, but I can't help but laugh when I think about how last year's season started with Filip going on strike and not wanting to play. I talked to him a lot about giving everything he had for the team. I asked him to leave Frankfurt as a hero, and he did. He was the player of the year and won the Europa League. Even though I'm happy for him, I'm sad he's leaving."

Glasner said he was surprised by how quickly Kostic's move, which had been talked about for weeks, happened between Frankfurt's 6-1 loss to Bayern Munich on Saturday and Wednesday's match against Champions League winner Madrid.

So, he said that Frankfurt's system probably wouldn't change for upcoming games, but it could be changed in the next few weeks. "On Monday, it became clearer that Filip might leave. You won't see a big change in the system [against Madrid], but we might change things in the coming weeks or months. It's the coach's job to find the best system, "he added.

"I didn't think it would be over so quickly. Even after the game against Bayern, I thought he would play. Well, this dream didn't come true. But when someone leaves, it's an opportunity, and I'd rather look at what's there than what's gone. It will give other players a chance to do something. The club is ready for it, and the transfer window is still open, so it's not like it's a big surprise."

, another goalkeeper, agreed with Glasner, but he was sure that Kostic's departure wouldn't affect the rest of the team. Trapp said: "We've talked about Filip every year at the start of the season. It's sad because Filip did something historic for the club and a lot for it. He's leaving as a hero who was a big part of this achievement.

"But that's how football and business work. We have a team capable of showing good performances without Filip, but it's nothing that shocked us or has shaken us after the speculation of the last weeks. It hurts to say goodbye, but it won't shake us up too much."

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