Updated on 05/06/2022 at 13:17
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It’s been 25 years since a Bundesliga team won the UEFA Cup, the little sister of the Champions League (Schalke 04). 25 years! That was so incredibly long ago that in the meantime the third European Cup competition (European Cup Winners’ Cup) has been discontinued, a new occupational therapy has been developed (Conference League) and the UEFA Cup has been renamed (Europa League).
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The German clubs never really loved the Europa League. They were all disappointed that they didn’t qualify for the more lucrative Champions League. Sometimes relegated there after a botched group stage in the premier club, clubs have often had to struggle through a seemingly never-ending summer qualifier to earn a few bucks.
They even had a swear word ready for the small European Cup, one that can be traced back to Franz Beckenbauer: “Losing Cup”. And that’s how the Germans mostly played – like losers. Until Eintracht Frankfurt discovered the competition and turned it into a festival. Crowds poured into the stadium, home and away, celebrating themselves and the team.
Eintracht Frankfurt makes it to the final
Anyone who witnessed the party in 2019, when the team fought its way into the semi-finals of the Europa League, is doubly happy that Eintracht Frankfurt finally made it into the final on Thursday. It’s a deserved reward: Eintracht Frankfurt is the pride of the Bundesliga. It’s not at all about whether coach Oliver Glasner’s team will actually win the final against Glasgow Rangers in Seville on May 18th.
The two semi-final victories against West Ham United, 2-1 and 1-0, are not necessarily the result of class play. For comparison: With 200 million euros, the market value is only a quarter of Bayern Munich. Seven Bundesliga clubs are rated as more valuable. But how should numbers express the fact that the team and coach work every patch of grass as if there were nothing bigger? This is pure football romance.
That’s why Eintracht is already a winner
A lively greeting from the Bundesliga to the rest of Europe, how awesome the German fan scene can be, how the team and appendix will unleash forces in the stadium that you didn’t expect. And the club can also play football. The address of the Frankfurt office is: In the heart of Europe 1. The name says it all.
Because a team that plays with the heart, i.e. full of passion that creates suffering, inspires fans all over the country. Eintracht Frankfurt left no one indifferent on the long journey to the final, and the sensational victory in Barcelona at the latest showed the power that the club is developing in the Europa League. Now one more victory is missing to triumph. Other Bundesliga clubs will now know what they missed.
Fever Pit’ch is Pit Gottschalk’s daily football newsletter. Every morning at 6:10 a.m., subscribers receive the comment on the football topic of the day and links to the best football stories in the German media.
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Updated on 05/06/2022 at 07:50
Eintracht Frankfurt is in the final of the Europa League after two wins over West Ham. After the final whistle there is no stopping – neither the fans nor the players.
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