Eintracht, founded in 1899, is one of the more famous German clubs. Despite winning only a single title (1959), they have experienced moderate success, winning back-to-back Cups in 74-75, and another two Cup victories in 1981 and 1988. In 1980, they also won the UEFA Cup. They were one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963, until relegation in 1997.
The club was founded as Frankfurter FC back in 1899, soon to be joined by Frankfurter Kickers. Various worthless non-soccer clubs joined, so by 1926 they became SG Eintracht. Eintracht was a strong presence throughout most of their history. In 1959, they defeated regional rivals Kickers Offenbach 5-3 to win the title. Subsequently, this led to a brilliant European Champions run, culminating in the most famous game in Frankfurt history: ironically, the stunning 3-7 loss in the European Championship to legendary Real Madrid.
An original founding member of the Bundesliga, throughout the 1960s-70s, the club was solid, usually in the top half of the table. Things started downhill in the 1980s. In 1984 they were almost relegated, but defeated MSV Duisburg 5-0 away in a playoff.
Nevertheless, the club recovered after another playoff avoided relegation in 1989, defeating 1.Fc Saarbrücken. But then things improved. From 1990-1994, they were a constant player in the title race, but in the 1995/95 season, disaster struck and the club was relegated for the first time in history. The subsequent 2.Liga year proved difficult, although they finally ended the season in the upper half. The 97/98 is going much better, so next year Eintracht is back into the Bundesliga.
There are some 6,000 members, although the fan groups have complained about high membership costs, preventing further gains.
Many famous players have worn the red-black, and probably the best was Jürgen Grabowski, the forward-midfielder who was on the World Cup winners of 1974. Charly Körbel holds a Bundesliga record of 602 games, Willi Neuberger played over 500, and Bernd Nickel another 420. Ghanian forward Anthony Yeboah was a top goal scorer in the late 80s-90s, but then ruined his career by going to England.
The 1998-99 season ended in dramatic fashion. Despite fighting all season long, Frankfurt already had their obituary published. Then in an incredible finale, they thrashed defending champ Kaiserslautern 5-1, while Nuernberg stunningly lost at home. Eintracht saved themselves on the 2nd tie-breaker: more goals scored! Next year was just as dramatic. Frankfurt continued financial incompetance, and the DFB ended up "fining" them: 2 pts would be substracted! This looked to be a death-knell, as Eintracht was bringing up the rear by midseason. But superhuman efforts under new coach Felix Magath got them on track, and by defeating Ulm in a tense battle with a late goal on the final day, they saved themselves once again. But salvation was short lived, as they soon dropped back down, only to pop back up. The biggest news of the 2004 season was hardly the poor performance on the field, but rather the financial difficulties. Frankfurt established itself as an underachiever, usually struggling against relegation.
The 2010-11 season witnessed a post-winterbreak meltdown, and Eintracht managed to get themselves relegated from a secure mid-table spot.
Fullname | Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball A.G.
City |
Frankfurt am Main (Hessen); pop:
640,000 (2002)
| Address |
Sportplatz Am Riederwald, Am Erlenbruch 25, 60386 Frankfurt | Phone: (069) 420-9700 Colors |
Thick vertical black and red stripes with white trim. Black shorts, white
socks. Road uniform is white shirt, black shorts.
| Stadium |
Waldstadion. Capacity: 61,146 (30,546 seats) | Built in 1922, this is one of the famed classic stadiums in Germany. The main tribune area once looked like an antique theater. It was finally torn down for the World Cup 74. A complete remodeling took place for the World Cup 2006. The amateurs and youth team play at the Riederwald, which was once a mighty stadium drawing up to 40,000. Today, it has a capcity of around 5,000. Nickname |
Die Adler (The Eagles)
| Tickets |
Priced from 18-40 euros (2004). Except for big matches, tickets should not
be too difficult to get, despite strong fan support.
| Supporters |
Usually strong, but recent elevator rides have taken out some of the wind.
Averaged 26,000 in the 2004 relegation year, about 20,000 in the
2.Liga. Many fan clubs.
| Friends |
A fan friendship exists with MSV Duisburg.
|
Foes | Bayern and Dortmund are unliked.
Fierce local rivals are Kickers Offenbach. | Heroes |
| Zeroes |
| Beer |
Actually instead of beer, the official drink should be
Apfelwein. (Apple wine). We will of course do further research...
|
Pub Grub |
The Frankfurter Würstchen are recommended and available
throughout the stadium.
| The Net |
The official site is
www.eintracht.de . A fan site from Alexander Kluender
is at eintrachtfans.de .
This is a good place to start. Links to the Internet fan club and various
fans groups with internet presence.
| |
2013-14 (I) Bundesliga 13th
2012-13 (I) Bundesliga 6th
2011-12 (II) 2.Liga 2nd
2010-11 (I) Bundesliga 17th
2009-10 (I) Bundesliga 10th
2008-09 (I) Bundesliga 13th
2007-08 (I) Bundesliga 9th
2006-07 (I) Bundesliga 14th
2005-06 (I) Bundesliga 14th
2004-05 (II) 2.Liga 3rd
2003-04 (I) Bundesliga 16th
2002-03 (II) 2.Liga 3rd
2001-02 (II) 2.Liga 7th
2000-01 (I) Bundesliga 17th
1999-00 (I) Bundesliga 14th
1998-99 (I) Bundesliga 15th
1997-98 (II) 2.Liga 1st
1996-97 (II) 2.Liga 7th
1995-96 (I) Bundesliga 17th
1994-95 (I) Bundesliga 9th
1993-94 (I) Bundesliga 5th
1992-93 (I) Bundesliga 3rd
1991-92 (I) Bundesliga 3rd
1990-91 (I) Bundesliga 4th
1989-90 (I) Bundesliga 3rd
1988-89 (I) Bundesliga 16th
1987-88 (I) Bundesliga 9th
1986-87 (I) Bundesliga 15th
1985-86 (I) Bundesliga 15th
1984-85 (I) Bundesliga 12th
1983-84 (I) Bundesliga 16th
1982-83 (I) Bundesliga 10th
1981-82 (I) Bundesliga 8th
1980-81 (I) Bundesliga 5th
1979-80 (I) Bundesliga 9th
1978-79 (I) Bundesliga 5th
1977-78 (I) Bundesliga 7th
1976-77 (I) Bundesliga 4th
1975-76 (I) Bundesliga 9th
1974-75 (I) Bundesliga 3rd
1973-74 (I) Bundesliga 4th
1972-73 (I) Bundesliga 8th
1971-72 (I) Bundesliga 5th
1970-71 (I) Bundesliga 15th
1969-70 (I) Bundesliga 8th
1968-69 (I) Bundesliga 8th
1967-68 (I) Bundesliga 6th
1966-67 (I) Bundesliga 4th
1965-66 (I) Bundesliga 7th
1964-65 (I) Bundesliga 8th
1963-64 (I) Bundesliga 3rd
(c) Abseits Guide to Germany