Wednesday, May 18, 2022 – a day that will go down in the history books of Eintracht Frankfurt one way or another. The only question is: How big, how triumphant will the appropriate chapter be? From 9 p.m (live in the audio stream from hr-iNFO and hessenschau.de) Hesse will meet Glasgow Rangers in the Europa League final. In Seville, Eintracht has the chance of an international title for the first time in 42 years. We have summarized everything you need to know before the game kicks off here.
the initial situation
It crackles, it buzzes, it hums: Since then Final entry almost two weeks ago there is no other topic in and around Frankfurt than this final. Team, coaching team, management floor and especially the fans: everyone is electrified. The team coped well with the 1-1 win against Gladbach and 2-2 in Mainz after a rather disappointing Bundesliga season. There were no (further) injuries, coach Oliver Glasner kept the tension high. At least in theory, Eintracht was able to switch to its very special Europa League mode almost without any problems before the final.
A look at Frankfurt’s route to the final shows what the club is capable of in this competition: first in the group stage, beating Olympiakos Piraeus, who have experience in the Champions League, among other things. Then, in the knockout phase, Real Betis from Seville, West Ham United and above all knocked out international heavyweight FC Barcelona in two epic matches. Twelve games without a single defeat: There is no doubt that Eintracht is right in the final.
And what is the starting position of the opponent? Answer: at least as euphoric, if not a little bit more euphoric. Up to 70,000 Glasgow Rangers fans are expected in Seville this Wednesday, that is around 20,000 more than on the part of the Hessians. One reason for this XXL enthusiasm lies in the recent history of the club.
In 2012, the Scottish record champions had to be relegated to the fourth division due to bankruptcy, a miraculous resurrection followed in record time. And this season? Have the Rangers prevailed in the Europa League against Borussia Dortmund and Leipzig, among others? Curtain up for a final that both clubs more than deserve.
The staff
Midfielder Jesper Lindström, who recently suffered from a thigh injury, is available for Eintracht. Whether the 22-year-old is in the starting XI or has to sit on the bench first is something Glasner wants to decide at short notice on the day of the final. Defender Martin Hinteregger is out, Tuta or Makoto Hasebe could play for him in the back three.
Eintracht could play like this:
Kemar Roofe, the third-best Rangers goalscorer in all competitions this season, got fit in time. “He will be in the squad,” confirmed coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Top attacker Alfredo Morelos will definitely be out.
This is how Glasgow could play: McGregor – Tavernier, Goldson, Bassey, Barisic – Jack, Lundstram, Kamara – Wright, Aribo, Kent
That’s what the coaches say
Oliver Glasner (Eintracht Frankfurt): “We analyzed Rangers very carefully. I see them as a mixture of West Ham and Barca, with influence from the Netherlands and a British mentality. They constantly entangle you in duels, are very robust and are very willing to break the ball when they lose the ball back. No one is above themselves for the way forward either. They play quickly at the top, with contact and good depth. They also bring in very fast crosses and have a good occupation of the penalty area.”
Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Glasgow Rangers): “Frankfurt had great games against FC Barcelona and West Ham United. They’re a well-organized team with fast and dangerous players. They deserve to be in the final. We’re all really looking forward to this game. We want our fans to be proud We have a great opportunity to get our second European Cup win and we want to win this trophy.”
You have to watch out for these players
Picking out a single player on the Hessen side would be completely inappropriate in the run-up to such a historic football game. Only as a team will Eintracht Frankfurt be able to fulfill their dream of winning the Europa League and qualifying for the Champions League. Only in a collective will it be possible to face the equally euphoric Rangers.
And only if the Hessians perform once again as a European Cup unit will they return home as living sporting legends on Thursday. That leading players like goalkeeper Kevin Trapp or Designer Filip Kostic must and will lead the way is not mutually exclusive. In addition, Evan N’Dicka, Tuta and Co. in defense will again have the task of compensating for Hinteregger’s absence.
in the Glasgow squad there are several professionals to watch out for. One of the most prominent is Aaron Ramsey, a 72-time Wales international and on loan from Juventus since the winter. Captain James Tavernier has 35 points (18 goals/17 assists) across all competitions and has scored seven goals in the Europa League alone.
Left winger Ryan Kent is also good for the offensive game and the goal threat of the Scots, he already has 19 assists. With Cedric Itten (Greuther Fürth) and Leon Balogun (Darmstadt 98 & Mainz 05, “For us, Eintracht is a feasible task”), two well-known players from the Bundesliga are also in the service of Rangers.
The statistics of the game
Eintracht and Glasgow have only met twice to date: in the 1959/60 season, they faced each other in the semi-finals of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup. The Hessians won the first leg in Frankfurt 6-1 and the second leg at Rangers 6-3.
A sporting sensation when you consider that Glasgow’s reputation as the best British team at the time preceded it. There will not be such a clear distribution of the role of favorites in 2022. Eintracht Frankfurt and their fans would certainly like to take one of the two results from 1960.
Source: HR