Shock, outnumbered, ecstasy
Frankfurt madness leads to the Europa League final
05/05/2022, 10:55 p.m
Eintracht Frankfurt continues to live the dream of winning the Europa League: the Bundesliga side knocked out West Ham United in the semi-finals and are the first German club ever to reach the final of the competition. The Glasgow Rangers surprisingly prevent a purely German final.
The storm began with the final whistle: Eintracht Frankfurt has impressively continued its exhilarating weeks in the Europa League and is only one step away from the second international title in the club’s history after winning the UEFA Cup 42 years ago. Immediately after the 1-0 win over West Ham United in the second leg of the semi-finals, numerous fans stormed the pitch and celebrated their football heroes. “Oh, how beautiful it is,” echoed through the arena. The situation got out of control for a short time, the police had to push back Eintracht supporters from near the guest curve.
“Incredible. A dream is finally coming true,” said Eintracht President Peter Fischer on the RTL microphone. “This city and the surrounding area deserve that.” With a triumph in the final on May 18 in Seville against Glasgow Rangers, the Hessian club can qualify for the Champions League for the first time. “Tradition plays against tradition – world class. Now we want to get the thing too,” said Fischer. Coach Oliver Glasner was also impressed: “It was a wonderful evening that you will never forget. The team threw everything in. It’s the best thing when you can make so many people happy. Now we’re looking forward to the final.”
“This is joie de vivre”
In front of 48,000 euphoric fans, the mild spring evening in the Main metropolis turned into a 90-minute long party all in white. “Finale oho,” chanted the Eintracht fans – some from the block, many on the pitch, where shirts were removed and winning photos were taken with the players. “This is Frankfurt. This is joie de vivre,” said Fischer. Rafael Borré (26th minute) scored the winning goal for coach Oliver Glasner’s team, who after winning the first leg 2-1 went into the second leg with a lead and are still unbeaten in the current competition.
The early red card from West Ham’s full-back Aaron Creswell (19th) had an additional beneficial effect and was celebrated by the Frankfurt fans like a goal of their own. West Ham coach David Moyes also saw red in the 78th minute.
The special nature of this great evening of football was made clear by the club and the fans even before the kick-off. Eintracht President Peter Fischer heated up the supporters, record player Karl-Heinz Körbel laughed and played around with the Europa League trophy and the fans, dressed all in white, put on a memorable pyro and confetti show in the last European home game of the season. Numerous stewards had to use leaf blowers to clear the field in time for kick-off. Despite numerous warnings, pyrotechnics continued to be ignited throughout the game.
The coach also sees red
The game, which saw UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin and various former Eintracht coaches in the stands, began with a bit of a shock for the hosts. Defense chief Martin Hinteregger was injured in a duel with Michail Antonio and had to go out after just seven minutes with a thigh injury. Three years ago, when Eintracht lost to Chelsea in the semifinals, the Austrian missed the decisive penalty. But this time everything went better from the start: When Creswell Frankfurt’s Jens Petter Hauge was the last man to fall, referee Jesus Gil Manzano reversed his original decision (yellow card) and sent the English defender off the field. After that, it wasn’t long before striker Borré scored to make it 1-0 after precise preparatory work from BVB loan Ansgar Knauff.
The party in white, which was reminiscent of the guest appearance at the Camp Nou in Barcelona in its exuberance, was unstoppable for a long time. “I have the feeling that the whole of Germany is a Eintracht fan,” coach Glasner emphasized before the game. Appropriately, the 2014 world champions Thomas Müller and Bastian Schweinsteiger sent their wishes in advance to Frankfurt, which is now the first German team since FC Schalke 04 25 years ago to win the Europa League (then UEFA Cup). The route to the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Seville is impressive: before West Ham, the Hessians had already knocked out the big FC Barcelona and Betis Sevilla in knockout games.
In the two duels with the Premier League club, Eintracht also had luck on their side. In the first leg, the Londoners hit aluminum three times, this time the extremely strong Evan Ndicka (44th) cleared a chance for Kurt Zouma on the line. Worn by the audience, Frankfurt took the narrow lead into the dressing room – and stayed on course for the final even after the change. The Eintracht fans welcomed their eleven back with Major Tom and “completely detached”. The British guests actually needed at least two goals for extra time, but were far too rarely in really dangerous situations when outnumbered. The Eintracht chants about the “European Cup this year” used to seem like a dream – now there is actually only one win left in Seville.