Eintracht Frankfurt has made their return to the continental competition in the past few years after the series of failure finishing on the top five in Bundesliga. They are eyeing for one constant position there to be one of the elite again just like in the past. The European nights in Deutsche Bank Park, their home base, with 51,500 fans would surely be exciting as the atmosphere there is incredible.
Frankfurt’s campaign in Europa League have been quite notable with several players playing crucial role for the club’s success with one title in hand. The likes of Bernd Holzenbein, Charly Kobel, Bernd Nickel, Willi Neuberger, Jurgen Grabowski, the former Korean international Cha Bum-Kun, Filip Kostic, Makoto Hasebe, Sebastian Rode, Luka Jovic and David Abraham were among the few names who managed to end the season triumphantly in second tier of European competition alongside the two distinguished boss, Friedel Rausch and Adi Hutter.
Top Achievements in the competition
Frankfurt is one of the few German teams which could win Europa League apart from Bayern. Their stellar season for continental competition was in 1979/80. Bernd Holzenbein and Co managed to clinch UEFA Cup trophy by winning over Borussia M’Gladbach 3-2 on aggregate. They held Gladbach in a 2-2 draw at the first leg and knocked out the young Lothar Matthaus and Co 1-0. Their next best results were in 1976 Cup Winners Cup and Europa League 2019. They both reached semi final but were beaten by two English clubs, West Ham in the former edition and Chelsea in the latter one. In 2019, Adi Hutter’s men even had to go through a penalty after a stalemate result in both fixtures.
On other occasions, the furthest stage they were able to reach was the quarter finals, which the German side did for several times, in 1978, 1982, 1989, 1994 and 1995.
Iconic Moments For Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt surely have had unforgettable moments in Europa League. The most memorable one was the 1980 final for sure when Friedel Rausch’s side managed to thump the favourite Borussia M’Gladbach. However, the team’s most iconic one was probably at the semi final. In that season, the last four were all taken by the German teams. Frankfurt had to take on Bayern Munich and already lost 0-2 at the first leg. At the second leg, they stunned Die Roeten and made a superb comeback by trouncing the Bavarian side 5-1 after the extra time. Pezzey’s brace was crucial to give them a lifeline for more time to save their campaign and they did. Another brace was scored by Karger plus Lorant’s penalty. Bayern could only reply once through Dremmler.
Meanwhile, the most devastating moment was definitely the 2019 semi final. They held Chelsea, the eventual champions in a 1-1 draw in Stamford Bridge after sharing spoils at home. Luka Jovic scored in both fixtures. Unfortunately, his goals did not suffice to save their campaign and The London side sent them to the exit on penalties.
