Eintracht Frankfurt may be two games away from ending a 62-year wait to reach the European Cup/Champions League – their last appearance came in the 1960 final
“West Ham has never experienced such an atmosphere as on Thursday against Eintracht Frankfurt. A stadium cannot be louder than the Waldstadion,” says Kicker journalist Julian Franzke.
The passion of Eintracht Frankfurt fans was a calling card on their Europa League journey. They filled the stands at the Nou Camp as their team sensationally beat Barcelona in the quarter-finals – a An estimated 30,000 supporters traveled to Spain for that game – and then packed London as Eintracht beat the Hammers 2-1 in the semi-final first leg last week.
To understand this phenomenon, it is important to know the soul of unity. Much like West Ham, this is a club with deep roots and massive support that has been denied success for decades. Their prime was long gone and younger fans grew up hearing about their world champion legends.
West Ham have never won the league title in England. Eintracht’s only triumph was in 1959, before the Bundesliga was formed. Living stars like 85-year-old Hungarian striker Istvan Sztani are always welcome at the stadium.
West Ham are proud of their 1966 heroes – Bobby Moore, Sir Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. For Eintracht, that’s Jürgen Grabowski and Bernd Holzenbein, the stars of the 1974 World Cup. Holzenbein even won the crucial penalty in the final when West Germany beat the Netherlands.
Grabowski, widely regarded as Eintracht’s greatest player, passed away two months ago. Bernd Nickel, another legend of the 70’s, who because of his sharp shots Dr. Hammer and famous for hitting all four corner flags at the Waldstadion died in October. The Europa League run is therefore dedicated to her memory.
However, this exceptional golden generation failed to win the league title, only winning the German Cup three times and the 1980 UEFA Cup.
Eintracht came closest to winning the Bundesliga in 1992 when coach Dragoslav Stepanovic’s hugely entertaining side had to beat relegated Hansa Rostock on the final day of play but lost 2–1 in disputed and dramatic circumstances.
“Today, many fans still have nightmares when they think about the disaster of 1992,” says Franzke. “Many people believe that winning the title would have ensured a much brighter future for Eintracht. We could have played in the Champions League in the debut season.”
Instead of becoming a big force, Eintracht was relegated for the first time in 1996, with national goalkeeper Andreas Koepke in the squad.
That could have been a very significant blow, as the example of Kaiserslautern, which is now third-rate, shows. Eintracht came back but were relegated again in 2001 and 2011.
Wise decisions have been crucial in tackling the crisis and supporters know the current line-up at the helm of the club can be relied upon. “President Peter Fischer and Vice-President Axel Hellmann have been Eintracht fans all their lives,” adds Franzke. “The fans appreciate and respect them. They know the club is in good hands.”
When Frankfurt won the DFB-Pokal in 2018 and beat Bayern in the final, Fischer and Hellmann personally brought the trophy to all Hessian fan clubs.
“Every fan should have touched this trophy,” says Sport1 journalist Christopher Michel. “Eintracht is different because the whole state is behind it. There are many different professional clubs in North Rhine-Westphalia or Bavaria, but in Hesse it doesn’t matter whether someone comes from the north, east, south or west. Everyone is cheering for unity.”
“The cup win in 2018 was absolutely gigantic for the club because we’ve been waiting for it for 30 years,” says Franzke. “After all these disappointments, you appreciate the good days.”
That’s why this Europa League season is so special.
“These games are celebrated so passionately because we suffered too much in the past,” adds Franzke. “Fans have a feeling this could be the last trip to Europe for a long time. As a Frankfurt supporter, you always expect the worst.”
Eintracht Frankfurt received a quota of 5,000 tickets for their game in Barcelona in the Europa League quarter-finals, but it is estimated that six times as many fans turned up for the game
But there is also a place for optimism, for these are new glory days with new heroes.
Under the Austrian coach Oliver Glasner, who left Wolfsburg last summer despite playing in the Champions League, Eintracht plays with speed in the transition game and uses their wings a lot.
Throughout history they have loved Flair players, particularly Jay-Jay Okocha, who began his European adventure in Frankfurt and scored one of the finest goals in Bundesliga history by making fun of Oliver Kahn in 1993.
The new players are also entertainers, most notably Filip Kostic – one of the most effective left-backs in the world and a dead-ball specialist who has recently been linked to many Premier League clubs, including West Ham themselves. The Serb scored twice and set up the famous victory in Barcelona.
Colombian star Rafael Santos Borre is a highly mobile centre-forward, while young Danish midfielder Jesper Lindstrom is a promising prospect.
“Young people experience what our parents did in the 1950s and we did in the 1970s – times of success. We’re used to losing, but now we like to win,” says Eintracht fan and Eintracht museum employee Axel Hoffmann.
Now Eintracht are just two games away from winning the Europa League and a place in the Champions League.
They were the first German club to reach the final of the European Cup, losing 7-3 to the magical Real Madrid at Hampden Park in 1960. Incredibly, this was their last game in the continent’s premier club competition, with the dream of returning so cruelly dashed in 1992.
62 years later they have a chance to be back and such thoughts fill every Eintracht fan with joy and excitement. No wonder the spectators in the Waldstadion will make a deafening noise on Thursday.
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