Despite the nine-year age gap, Frankfurt's Alex Meier and Haris Seferovic (l-r.) struck up quite the understanding in 2014/15
Despite the nine-year age gap, Frankfurt's Alex Meier and Haris Seferovic (l-r.) struck up quite the understanding in 2014/15

Alexander Meier: Frankfurt's extraordinary goalgetter

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Frankfurt - Eintracht Frankfurt's is not your archetypal midfielder, yet there is clearly something special about him.

The Eagles' elder statesman may humbly suggest he is merely 'normal', but with a goalscoring record that any top striker might envy - and one which he has confirmed year on year - not many will be falling for that modesty.

In an interview midway through the 2014/15 campaign, Meier revealed some of his secrets, talking about an emotional decade with the Eagles while also touching on his partnership with Haris Seferovic, which appears to be a match made in heaven.

Question: How would you sum up your partnership?

Meier: Well, I’m the normal one and he’s the crazy one [laughs].

Question: How should we interpret that?

Meier: Haris is quite a bit younger than I am [at 22] and he’s from a different generation of players. You can notice that in the changing room but also out on the pitch. I do normal things and maybe score normal goals, whereas Haris does other things. You only need to look at goal he scored against Dortmund - he sensed something and just kept on running when [Matthias] Ginter’s header back to his own goalkeeper didn’t work out as planned. And against Bremen he scored while lying down. He also posts things like mad on social media [...] he’s certainly different to me.

Question: The Frankfurt fans call you a ‘football god’. What does that mean to you?

Meier: I’m delighted about it because it’s a very special form of recognition.

Marvel at Seferovic's 'knee goal' against Bremen on the Bundesliga's official YouTube channel:

Question: You’ve always been a favourite within the club itself, and you extended your contract for another three years last May. Will you finish your career here?

Meier: I might well do. I really like it in Frankfurt and I feel at home in the city and at the club. And I’ve never forgotten that the chairman Heribert Bruchhagen stood by me through difficult periods.

Question: Things didn't go so well for you at the start of the season and you were even on the bench a lot. What happened there?

Meier: The coach thought I wasn’t 100 per cent fit. Obviously I saw things differently but I did have a couple of knee complaints at the very start of the season. Now everything’s good though. I’m playing and the coach is happy with me.

Peppi Schmitt reporting from Frankfurt