Eintracht Frankfurt reach first European final in 42 years

By Andrew Lord

6 May 2022

Eintracht Frankfurt will face Glasgow Rangers in the final of the 2022 Europa League after defeating West Ham United in the semi-final. The encounter in Seville on 18 May 2022 will be the first time Frankfurt have reached a European final since winning the UEFA Cup in 1980.

And if Frankfurt needed any extra motivation, the winners of the UEFA Europa League will be awarded a place in next year’s Champions League.

Frankfurt were already in a strong position after beating West Ham 2-1 in the away leg of the semi-final at the London Stadium. But the club were dealt an early blow when Austrian centre-back Martin Hinteregger had to leave the field after just eight minutes with a thigh injury and will now miss the rest of the season.

The game was turned on its head when West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell was shown a red card for a professional foul on Jens Petter Hauge. Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano had originally shown Cresswell a yellow card, but after reviewing the incident he upgraded it to a red card.

After 26 minutes, a goal by Columbian Rafael Borré put Frankfurt 1-0 ahead on the night and 3-1 up on aggregate. From this commanding position, it was all about game management. West Ham manager David Moyes was shown a red card in the 77^th minute of the game for kicking the ball aggressively at a ball boy.

After the final whistle was blown, Frankfurt fans invaded the pitch, with some brandishing flares, as they mobbed the Frankfurt players and celebrated the victory.

Markus Krösche, sporting director of Eintracht Frankfurt, told the radio station Hessenschau: “We had a difficult group, then we played Real Betis, Barcelona and West Ham. After the difficult start to the season and the major upheaval we had, nobody really believed we would reach the final. Now we want to win the Europa-League. Getting into the Champions League would be a milestone. We know how strong Glasgow Rangers are. It will be an extremely difficult game. But our objective is clear, we want to win this trophy.”

Frankfurt Trainer Oliver Glasner was delighted with the fight shown by his team: “West Ham made it difficult for us. They gave everything and were very physical. We knew we have to keep winning the second balls and match them physically. We’ve reached the final and we are unbeaten in this competition. It was an amazing evening that none of us will ever forget it. I was very tense until the final whistle after the experience of Manchester City yesterday. They led until just before the end and two minutes later were behind. The atmosphere at the club and in the city of Frankfurt really carries us along. It means the players are able to perform at the maximum level.”

Eintracht Frankfurt met Olympiacos, Fenerbahçe and Antwerp in Group D of the Europa League and topped the table with three wins and three draws. Frankfurt went on to beat Real Betis 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16 and knocked out Barcelona in the quarter finals.

The threat posed by Rangers

Kevin Trapp highlighted the hard work behind Frankfurt’s Europa League performances and warned that the final will be tough: “At the start of the season, the trainer mentioned the date of the final. Now we’ve fulfilled this dream. It’s the best day of my career. We’ve done a lot to get where we are today. Glasgow Rangers play in a similar physical manner to West Ham.”

And Frankfurt will be especially wary of Glasgow Rangers as the Scottish Premiership club have already beaten two German sides in the Europa League this season, defeating Borussia Dortmund 6-4 over two legs in the knockout round play-offs and winning 3-2 on aggregate over RB Leipzig in the semi-final.

Ex-Bayern Munich and Rangers midfielder Christian Nerlinger told the Daily Record: “There is no way Frankfurt will take Rangers lightly after seeing what they did to the other German teams.”

Frankfurt have struggled in the league this season. They suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to 3rd Division side SV Waldhof Mannheim in the first round of the German Cup and are in twelfth position in the Bundesliga table with just two games remaining.

Previous European success

Frankfurt will be hoping to repeat the success of their last appearance in a European final 42 years ago. On 7 May 1980, Borussia Mönchengladbach beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 in the first leg of the UEFA Cup final with 19-year-old Lothar Matthäus among the scorers. But two weeks later Frankfurt beat Gladbach 1-0 at the Waldstadion thanks to a late goal from substitute Fred Schaub and won the trophy on the away goals rule.

The semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1980 had featured four West German clubs. Borussia Mönchengladbach beat VfB Stuttgart 3-1 on aggregate, while Eintracht Frankfurt beat Bayern Munich 5-3 over two legs.

This is the third time Eintracht Frankfurt have reached a European final. The club played in the legendary 1960 European Cup Final in front of 127,000 fans at Hampden Park, which they lost 7-3 to a Real Madrid side featuring Ferenc Puskás and Alfredo Di Stéfano.

Frankfurt have received an allocation of just 10,000 tickets for the final, but within 48 hours of going on sale the club had over 100,000 requests for tickets. Supporters will be hoping they can get their hands on enough tickets in order to make up the majority of the fans at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in Seville, with the objective of creating a home game atmosphere as was the case when Eintracht fans obtained tickets in all areas at the Camp Nou in the 3-2 victory over Barcelona in the quarter final.