After the title came the thirst. At the end of a nerve-wracking, heated final, which started at 30 degrees in the evening in Seville and ended with penalties at 25 degrees before midnight, many Frankfurters in the stadium only wanted one thing: to drink. About 15,000 Eintracht fans were almost dehydrated because they had sung for 120 minutes all in white with matching caps in the curve, where there was no beer and water was scarce even in the toilets.
But that didn’t seem to matter at first. After 42 years without a major title, the Bundesliga side had just won the Europa League after beating Glasgow Rangers 5-4 from the point.
In the rain of tinsel, the supply of drinks could wait. Even with Kevin Trapp, who was only handed a beverage can after being named player of the game and countless interviews, presumably with alcoholic content. The goalkeeper emptied it with relish while his team-mates presented the 15-kilo silver vase to their fans, who stayed in the stadium for a long time despite being thirsty.
“We are all heroes,” Trapp passed on the praise after the dramatic game had ended. But the national keeper clearly stood out, not only because of the saved fourth penalty, which brought the title in the end. But because of the rescue minutes before the overtime whistle. Glasgow’s Ryan Kent wanted to turn away to celebrate – but Trapp’s foot prevented it.
But he was indeed not the only hero. Captain Sebastian Rode had to be treated for minutes after being kicked in the head and continued to play with a turban, like Bastian Schweinsteiger in the 2014 World Cup final. “It’s a dream to win this title with Eintracht,” said Rode, who was relegated with Frankfurt in 2011 and now how many experienced his career highlight.
Apart from thirst, bewilderment was the strongest feeling that accompanied this unexpected cup win by a team that often disappointed in the Bundesliga but surpassed itself internationally. “This is the greatest moment in the club’s history,” stammered President Peter Fischer euphorically.
“It wasn’t highly dramatic, it was turbo-dramatic,” summed up board spokesman Axel Hellmann. After 56 minutes, the Scots took the lead through Joe Aribo because Eintracht defender Tuta got a cramp in a tackle and simply fell over. But then the 38-year-old Makoto Hasebe led the defense instead of him, Filip Kostic brought one of his many crosses to Rafael Borré, who equalized after 68 minutes. After that there was a lot of fighting and cramping up to the penalty shoot-out, which the Colombian crowned with the last goal.
“As so often in the Europa League, we came back after a setback,” said coach Oliver Glasner. “Once again we have shown what makes us special.” After Ernst Happel, he is only the second Austrian to coach a European Cup. As a reward, after the final whistle he was allowed to dive into the alley between his players and be refreshed with beer showers.
A dream for all those thirsty in the stadium, who then scattered around Seville in search of something to drink. The Rangers fans were more out of frustration, although the Scots also delivered a presentable and fair performance off the field. Among the almost 40,000 spectators in the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, the Blues were even in the majority, just like in the city during the day. While they now want to console themselves at the Scottish FA Cup final on Saturday, many Frankfurters quickly bought liters of water because the buses and trains sometimes went back at night.
On Thursday evening, the team was supposed to drive from Frankfurt Airport to the balcony of the town hall in convertibles and present the trophy to 100,000 fans there. “This title is also for the really tough guys who stand there with tears in their eyes after the games and always support us,” said injured defender Martin Hinteregger in advance of Hessischer Rundfunk. “And for Jürgen Grabowski and Bernd Nickel.” The club legends had died during the season.
But what follows for Frankfurt? First of all, participation in the Champions League for the first time next season, which, together with the cup prizes, should bring Eintracht a whopping income of around 50 million euros – which could just be enough to compensate for the corona losses of 45 million euros and maybe to keep some top performers.
Glasner has already announced Kostic’s whereabouts. What will be missing is the Europa League – at least for the time being. And you have to be a little careful not to become a victim of your own hype and overdo it at some point. Glasner doesn’t care: “I’m going to party until Saturday, on Sunday I’m going on vacation.”
