Europa League: Dream final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Glasgow Rangers

0
135

Eintracht Frankfurt is looking forward to the biggest game in the club's history. A win in the Europa League final against Glasgow Rangers would cap the magical European journey of Eintracht and their fans.

Oliver Glasner would be the second coach from Austria after Ernst Happel to win a European Cup

Starting position:

The final in the Europa League fulfills the dreams of many football romantics: with Eintracht Frankfurt and Glasgow Rangers, two traditional clubs with a huge fan base meet. Both clubs started the competition as underdogs, both getting more and more intoxicated from round to round. For Eintracht, who finished eleventh in the Bundesliga, the final in Seville (kick-off 9 p.m. CEST) not only offers the chance for a title, but also the opportunity to play in the Champions League next season. Coach Oliver Glasner's team goes into the game with confidence and full of anticipation. In the semi-finals against West Ham United and especially in the quarter-finals against FC Barcelona, ​​they showed that they can beat clubs of Rangers caliber. However, the failure of defender Martin Hinteregger weighs heavily.

Eintracht opponents Glasgow Rangers have already eliminated two Bundesliga clubs on their way to the final. Borussia Dortmund in the playoff round and RB Leipzig in the semi-finals had to bow out against the 55-time Scottish champions. For Rangers, reaching the Europa League final after the 2021 championship marks their definitive return to the top. After bankruptcy, Rangers were transferred to the fourth division for the 2012/2013 season and fought their way back into the Premier League within four years.  

Voices:

Oliver Glasner (coach Eintracht Frankfurt):“It's like high school: you're either prepared or not. I just want to see Eintracht Frankfurt football. We're impressed by Rangers. If you win against second and fourth in the Bundesliga, you're the favorite when you beat playing eleventh in the Bundesliga.”

Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Team Manager Glasgow Rangers): “You have to dream of something to really achieve it. A final is only nice when you win it. That's why we're here to win it.”

Axel Hellmann (CEO Eintracht Frankfurt): “This will be a unique gathering of the most vocal and enthusiastic fans in Europe.” ,

Sebastian Rode (Captain Eintracht Frankfurt): “This is my career highlight, it will be huge.”

Statistics:

For German football, a victory for Eintracht would end a 25-year dry spell. That's how long it's been since Schalke's “Eurofighter” was the last Bundesliga team to win the Europa League, then the UEFA Cup. After that, 2002 Borussia Dortmund and 2009 Werder Bremen made it to the final, but failed there. The Frankfurters themselves have already raised the silver vat: in 1980 they won the German final against Borussia Mönchengladbach. It would also be Rangers' second European title after winning the 1972 European Cup Winners' Cup. A direct comparison of the two clubs is clearly in favor of Eintracht: In 1960, Frankfurt and Glasgow met in the semi-finals of the national champions' cup. Eintracht won the second leg 6-3 and 6-1. In the final, however, Real Madrid were too strong.