Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt is a football (soccer) club from Germany.

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Eintracht Frankfurt is a Germany sports club, based in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse that is best known for its football (soccer) List of football clubs in Germany.

History

Club origins

The origins of the side go back to a pair of football clubs founded in 1899: Frankfurter Fußball-Club Viktoria von 1899 – regarded as the "original" football side in Eintracht Frankfurt's history – and Frankfurter Fußball-Club Kickers von 1899. Both clubs were founding members of the new Nordkreis-Liga in 1909. These two teams merged in May 1911 to become Frankfurter FV (Kickers-Viktoria), an instand success, taking out three league titles from 1912 to 1914 in the Nordkreis-Liga and qualifiying for the Southern German championship in each of those seasons. In turn, Frankfurter FV joined the gymnastics club Frankfurter Turngemeinde von 1861 to form TuS Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861 in 1920.

Pre-Bundesliga history

At the time, sports in Germany was dominated by nationalistic gymnastics organizations, and under pressure from that sport's governing authority, the gymnasts and footballers went their separate ways again in 1927, as Turngemeinde Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861 and Sportgemeinde Eintracht Frankfurt (FFV) von 1899.

Through the late 20's and into the 30's Eintracht won a handful of local and regional championships, first in the Kreisliga Nordmain , then in the Bezirksliga Main, and Bezirksliga Main-Hessen, but never made it very far in the national championship rounds except for 1932 when they became runners-up in the German national championship (the final was lost 0-2 to Bayern Munich). In 1933, German football was re-organized into sixteen Gauligen under the Nazi Germany and Eintracht Frankfurt played first division football in the Gauliga Südwest, consistently finishing in the upper half of the table and winning their division in 1938.

They picked up where they left off after World War II playing as a solid side in the first division Oberliga Süd (1945-63), capturing division titles in 1953 and 1959. Their biggest success came on the heels of that second divisional title as they went on to a 5-3 victory over local rivals Kickers Offenbach to take the German national title and followed up immediately with an outstanding run in the European Champions Cup. Eintracht lost 3-7 to Real Madrid C.F. in an exciting 1960 European Cup Final widely regarded as one of the best football matches ever played.

Founding member of the Bundesliga

The side continued to play good football and earned themselves a place as one of the original sixteen teams selected to play in the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's new professional football league, formed in Fußball-Bundesliga 1963/64. Eintracht played Bundesliga football for thirty-three seasons finishing in the top half of the table more often than not. Their best Bundesliga performances were five third-place finishes: they ended just two points back of champion VfB Stuttgart in Fußball-Bundesliga 1991/92.

They also narrowly avoided relegation on several occasions. In Fußball-Bundesliga 1983/84, they defeated MSV Duisburg 6-1 on aggregate, and in Fußball-Bundesliga 1988/89 they beat 1. FC Saarbrücken 4-1 on aggregate, in two-game playoffs. Eintracht finally slipped and were relegated to 2. Fußball-Bundesliga for the 1996-97 season. At the time that they were sent down along with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, these teams were two of only four sides that had been in the Bundesliga since the league's inaugural season.

It looked as though they would be out again in Fußball-Bundesliga 1998/99, but they pulled through by beating defending champions Kaiserslautern 5-1, while 1. FC Nuremberg unexpectedly lost at home, to give Eintracht the break they needed to stay up. The following year, in another struggle to avoid relegation, Eintracht Frankfurt was "fined" two points by the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund or German Football Association) for financial misdeeds, but pulled through with a win by a late goal over SSV Ulm 1846 on the last day of the season. Eintracht Frankfurt was plagued by financial difficulties again in Fußball-Bundesliga 2003–04 before once more being relegated.

Between 1997 and 2005, Eintracht has bounced between the top two divisions and has often kept its fans on edge over whether or not the side would be demoted, but in the 2005-06 season supporters learned earlier than is often the case that Eintracht Frankfurt would stay up, as they finished their Bundesliga season in 14th place, three points clear of relegation.

In the 2006-07 campaign Eintracht secured the Bundesliga spot on the 33rd day again.

As of 2007 Eintracht has over 10 million sympathisers in Germany.

In 2007-08 Eintracht had the Average attendances of European football clubs in Europe, ahead of such prominent clubs as S.S.C. Napoli, Liverpool F.C. and Atlético Madrid.

Success outside the Bundesliga

Eintracht Frankfurt has enjoyed considerable success in competition outside the Bundesliga. Eintracht famously lost the UEFA Champions League final to Real Madrid C.F. on May 18 1960 at Hampden Park 7-3 in front of 127,621 spectators. It is one of the most talked about European matches of all time, with Alfredo Di Stéfano scoring 3 and Ferenc Puskás scoring the other 4 for Real.

In Intertoto Cup 1966-67 they won the UEFA Intertoto Cup beating FK Inter Bratislava in the final.

They won the German Cup in DFB-Pokal 1973–74, DFB-Pokal 1974–75, DFB-Pokal 1980–81, and DFB-Pokal 1987–88, and took the UEFA Cup over another German team – Borussia Mönchengladbach – in UEFA Cup 1979-80. More recently, Eintracht were the losing finalists in the DFB-Pokal 2005–06 German Cup. Their opponents in the final, FC Bayern Munich, Bundesliga champions that year, qualified to participate in the UEFA Champions League. As a result Eintracht received the Cup winner's place in the UEFA Cup where they advanced to the group stage.

Colours, crest and nicknames

Eintracht Frankfurt crest derives from the coat of arms of Frankfurt am Main which is in turn is a reference to the one-headed imperial eagle of the 13th century.

The crest has evolved slowly over time, showing little significant change until 1980 when a stylized eagle in black and white was chosen to represent the team. In the centennial year 1999 Eintracht Frankfurt board decided to re-adopt a more traditional eagle crest.

The official club colours of red, black, and white have their origins in the colours of the founding clubs Frankfurter FC Viktoria and Frankfurter FC Kickers, which sported red and white and black and white respectively. Red and white are the colours of the city coat of arms, and black and white the colours of Coat of arms of Prussia. When the clubs merged, officials decided to adopt the colours of both sides. Since local rival Kickers Offenbach sport the colours red and white, Eintracht avoids playing in such a kit, preferring to play in black and red, or in black and white.

Eintracht Frankfurt is nicknamed Die Adler (The Eagles), which obviously derives from their crest. A nickname still popular among supporters is SGE, taken from Eintracht Frankfurt's old official name Sportgemeinde Eintracht (Frankfurt), roughly translated meaning Sports community Harmony.

The nickname Launische Diva (Moody Diva) was heard most often in the early 1990s when Eintracht Frankfurt would easily defeat top teams only to surprisingly lose to lesser clubs. This nickname was also held to refer to the what was regarded as the dubious work of some club chairmen, including for example, the failure to record the transfer fee of Hungarian star player Lajos Détári on club books. The current reign of Heribert Bruchhagen appears to have left these practises to the past.

The players themselves have been referred to as the Schlappekicker - "Slipper Kickers" in the local slang - because, in the days before big-monied professionalism, many of them were employed at a local slipper factory.

Honours

International

- UEFA Cup
- - Winners : UEFA Cup 1979-80
- UEFA Intertoto Cup
- - Winners : Intertoto Cup 1966-67
- UEFA Champions League
- - Runners-up: European Cup 1959-60
- Coppa delle Alpi
- - Winners : 1967

National

- German football champions
- - Champions: German football championship 1959
- - Runners-up: German football championship 1932
- DFB-Pokal
- - Winners : DFB Cup 1973-74, DFB Cup 1974-75, DFB-Pokal 1980-81, DFB-Pokal 1987-88
- - Runners-up: DFB Cup 1963-64, DFB Cup 2005-06
- 2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- - Winners: Second Fußball-Bundesliga 1997-98
- Fuji-Cup
- - Winners: 1992
- - Runners-up: 1994

Regional

- Southern German championship
- - Champions: 1929-30, 1931-32, 1952-53, 1958-59
- - Runners-up: 1912-13+, 1913-14+, 1930-31, 1953-54, 1960-61, 1961-62
- Nordkreis-Liga
- - Champions: 1911-12+, 1912-13+, 1913-14+
(+ as Frankfurter FV)
- Kreisliga Nordmain
- - Winners: 1919-20+, 1920-21
- - Runners-up: 1921-22
- Bezirksliga Main-Hessen:
- - Winners: 1927-28, 1928-29, 1929-30, 1930-31, 1931-32
- - Runners-up: 1932-33
- Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen:
- - Winners: 1937-38
- - Runners-up: 1936-37
- Hesse Cup
- - Winners: 1946, 1969

Youth

- German Under 19 championship (football)
- - Champions: 1982, 1983, 1985
- - Runners-up: 1987
- German Under 17 championship (football)
- - Champions: 1977, 1980, 1991
- - Runners-up: 1981, 1982

League results

Recent seasons

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from:01/07/1991 till:01/07/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/1992 till:01/07/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:5
from:01/07/1994 till:01/07/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/1995 till:01/07/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:17
from:01/07/1996 till:01/07/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:7
from:01/07/1997 till:01/07/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:1
from:01/07/1998 till:01/07/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:15
from:01/07/1999 till:01/07/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:17
from:01/07/2001 till:01/07/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:7
from:01/07/2002 till:01/07/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/2003 till:01/07/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:16
from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:3
from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2006 till:01/07/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:14
from:01/07/2007 till:01/07/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:9
from:01/07/2008 till:01/07/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:13

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from:01/07/2004 till:01/07/2005 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "2. Fußball-Bundesliga"
from:01/07/2005 till:01/07/2009 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Fußball-Bundesliga"

All time

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from:01/07/1998 till:30/07/2001 color:1d shift:(0,13)
from:01/07/2001 till:30/07/2003 color:2d shift:(0,13)
from:01/07/2003 till:30/07/2004 color:1d shift:(0,13)
from:01/07/2004 till:30/07/2005 color:2d shift:(0,13)
from:01/07/2005 till:30/07/2009 color:1d shift:(0,13)

Green denotes the highest German football league system; yellow the second highest.

Players

As of 21 July 2009.

Players out on loan

Greatest ever team

Greatest ever Eintracht Frankfurt team

The following team was voted the greatest ever Eintracht Frankfurt team by supporters.

- Uli Stein
- Bruno Pezzey
- Willi Neuberger
- Karl-Heinz Körbel
- Jürgen Grabowski
- Andreas Möller
- Norbert Nachtweih
- Wilhelm Huberts
- Bernd Nickel
- Bernd Hölzenbein
- Tony Yeboah

World Cup Winners while signed at Frankfurt

1954 FIFA World Cup - Germany national football team
- Alfred Pfaff (1949-1961)

1974 FIFA World Cup - Germany national football team
- Jürgen Grabowski (1965-1980)
- Bernd Hölzenbein (1967-1981)

1990 FIFA World Cup - Germany national football team
- Uwe Bein (1989-1994)

Other World Cup Winners who played in Frankfurt

1954 FIFA World Cup - Germany national football team
- Toni Turek (1946-1947)

1990 FIFA World Cup - Germany national football team
- Andreas Köpke (1994-1996)

1990 FIFA World Cup - Germany national football team
- Thomas Berthold (1982-1987)
- Andreas Köpke (1994-1996)
- Andreas Möller (1985-1987; 1990-1992; 2003-2004)

Medal winners at Summer Olympics

Image:Gold medal.svg Gold

Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Nigeria national football team
- Jay-Jay Okocha (1992-1996)

Image:Bronze medal.svg Bronze

Football at the 1988 Summer Olympics - Germany national football team
- Ralf Sievers (1982-1990)

Current club staff

Club Presidents

- 1949-1955 Anton Keller / Ernst Geerling
- 1955-1969 Rudolf Gramlich / Erich Gabler
- 1969-1970 Rudolf Gramlich
- 1970-1973: Albert Zellekens
- 1973-1981: Achaz von Thümen
- 1981-1983: Axel Schander
- 1983-1988 Klaus Gramlich
- 1988-1996: Joseph Wolf (chairman) / Matthias Ohms
- 1996: Dieter Lindner (footballer)
- 1996: Hans Joachim Otto
- 1996-2000: Rolf Heller
- Since 2000: Peter Fischer

Managers/Head Coaches

- 1919 Albert Sohn
- 1921 Izidor Kürschner
- 1925 Maurice Parry
- 1926 Fritz Egly/ Walter Dietrich
- 1927 Gustav Wieser
- 1928 Paul Oßwald
- 1933 Willi Spreng
- 1935 Paul Oßwald
- 1939 Otto Boer (caretaker)
- 1939 Péter Szabó (footballer)
- 1941 Willi Lindner (caretaker)
- 1942 Péter Szabó (footballer) (caretaker)
- 1942 Willi Balles (caretaker)
- 1945 Willy Pfeiffer (caretaker)
- 1945 Sepp Herberger (caretaker)
- 1946 Emil Melcher
- 1947 Willi Treml
- 1948 Bernhard Kellerhoff
- 1949 Walter Hollstein
- 1950 Kurt Windmann
- 1956 Adolf Patek
- 1958 Paul Oßwald
- 1964 Ivica Horvat
- 1965 Elek Schwartz
- 1968 Erich Ribbeck
- 1973 Dietrich Weise
- 1976 Hans-Dieter Roos
- 1976 Gyula Lóránt
- 1977 Jürgen Grabowski (caretaker)
- 1977 Dettmar Cramer
- 1978 Otto Knefler
- 1978 Udo Klug (caretaker)
- 1979 Friedel Rausch
- 1980 Lothar Buchmann
- 1982 Helmut Senekowitsch
- 1982 Branko Zebec
- 1983 Klaus Mank (caretaker)
- 1983 Dietrich Weise
- 1986 Timo Zahnleiter
- 1987 Karl-Heinz Feldkamp
- 1988 Pál Csernai
- 1988 Jörg Berger
- 1991 Dragoslav Stepanović
- 1993 Horst Heese
- 1993 Klaus Toppmöller
- 1994 Karl-Heinz Körbel (caretaker)
- 1994 Jupp Heynckes
- 1995 Karl-Heinz Körbel
- 1996 Dragoslav Stepanović
- 1996 Rudolf Bommer (caretaker)
- 1997 Horst Ehrmantraut
- 1998 Bernhard Lippert (caretaker)
- 1999 Reinhold Fanz
- 1999 Jörg Berger
- 1999 Felix Magath
- 2001 Rolf Dohmen
- 2001 Friedel Rausch
- 2001 Martin Andermatt
- 2002 Armin Kraaz (caretaker)
- 2002 Willi Reimann
- 2004 Friedhelm Funkel
- 2009 Michael Skibbe
: 9-1 vs. Rot-Weiss Essen, October 5, 1974
- Away victory, Fußball-Bundesliga: 8-1 . Rot-Weiss Essen, May 7, 1977
- Home loss, Fußball-Bundesliga: 0-7 vs. Karlsruher SC, September 19, 1964
- Away loss, Fußball-Bundesliga: 0-7 vs. 1. FC Köln, October 29, 1983
- Highest home attendance: 81,000 vs. FK Pirmasens, May 23, 1959
- Highest away attendance: 127,621 vs. Real Madrid C.F., Hampden Park, Glasgow, May 18, 1960
- Highest average attendance, season: 48,324, Fußball-Bundesliga 2007-08
- Most appearances, all competitions total: 720, Karl-Heinz Körbel 1972–1991
- Most appearances, Fußball-Bundesliga: 602, Karl-Heinz Körbel 1972–1991
- Most goals scored, total: 201, Bernd Hölzenbein 1967–1981
- Most goals scored, Fußball-Bundesliga: 160, Bernd Hölzenbein 1967–1981
- Most goals scored, season, Fußball-Bundesliga: 26, Bernd Hölzenbein, Fußball-Bundesliga 1976/77

Recent top scorers

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- Location: Frankfurt am Main
- Capacity: 52,300 (42,000 seated)
- Inauguration: May 21 1925
- Pitch Size: 105 x 68 metres
- Record Attendance: 81,000; Eintracht Frankfurt vs. FK Pirmasens, May 23, 1959
- Address: Commerzbank-Arena, Mörfelder Landstrasse 362, 60528 Frankfurt am Main
- Nickname(s): Waldstadion

The ground was inaugurated as Waldstadion (Forest Stadium) in 1925 with the German championship final match between FSV Frankfurt vs. 1. FC Nuremberg.

The facility was renovated for the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. For Bundesliga fixtures the maximum capacity is 51,500 as on the East Stand next to the visitor's terrace some spaces are held free for security purposes.

Among supporters the new name Commerzbank-Arena is very unpopular and though the media usually refer to the ground as the official name, the Eintracht faithful stick with the name Waldstadion.

Reserves team

Eintracht Frankfurt U23 is the reserve team of Eintracht Frankfurt. The team plays as U23 (Under 23) to emphasize the character of Eintracht Frankfurt as a link between youth academy and pro team. The team plays in the regular league system in the 4th tier, the Regionalliga Süd.

Notable fans

- Azad (rapper) - Hip Hop artist
- Badesalz - Comedy duo
- Böhse Onkelz - Former hard rock band
- Jörg Bombach - Radio DJ and presenter (Hessischer Rundfunk)
- Daniel Cohn-Bendit - European politician and leader of the student protesters during the May 1968 riots in France.
- DJ Dag - Trance DJ
- Joschka Fischer - Former Foreign Office (Germany)
- Steffi Jones - FIFA Women's World Cup winner
- Franz Josef Jung - Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany)
- Roland Koch - List of Ministers-President of Hesse of Hesse
- Mundstuhl - Comedy duo
- Petra Roth - List of mayors of Frankfurt
- Tankard (band) - Metal band
- Achim Vandreike - Former magistrate member in Frankfurt
- Sebastian Vettel - Formula 1 racing driver
- Alexander Waske - Professional tennis player

Team trivia

- Predecessor sides FC Viktoria and Frankfurter FC were Founding Clubs of the DFB of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) in Leipzig in 1900.
- Jürgen Friedl, (born February 23, 1959) was the youngest player ever to take to the field in a Bundesliga match at age 17 years, 26 days on August 6, 1975 before being overhauled by Nuri Şahin of Dortmund.
- Richard Kress, (born March 6, 1925) is the oldest Bundesliga rookie, making his debut at 38 years, 171 days on the opening day of league play on August 24, 1963. He scored his first Bundesliga goal at 38 years, 248 days.
- Eintracht holds the record for most consecutive away games without a win: 32 games from August 20, 1985 to August 25, 1987.
- Eintracht Frankfurt also holds the mark for early dismissal of its coach: twenty men have met this fate in Frankfurt.
- Besides 1. FC Köln and Bayern Munich, Eintracht is the only club having members in each of Germany's World Cup winning teams.
- Since 2006 Eintracht has a living mascot, Golden Eagle Attila from the nearby Hanau zoo who is very popular among supporters.
- In 2007 an official Eintracht museum was erected in the interior of the stadium, where regularly veteran players and coaches lead guided tours through Eintracht Frankfurt's history.

1.FC Köln, Arminia Bielefeld, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, Energie Cottbus, FC Schalke 04, Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, Hertha BSC Berlin, Karlsruher SC, SV Werder Bremen, TSG Hoffenheim, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Bochum, VfL Wolfsburg

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