Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. (German pronunciation:[ˈaɪntʁaxtˈfʁaŋkfʊʁt]ⓘ) is a German professionalsports club based inFrankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for itsfootball club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in theBundesliga, the top tier of theGerman football league system. Eintracht have won theGerman championship once, theDFB-Pokal five times, theUEFA Europa League twice and finished as runner-up in theEuropean Cup once. The team was one of the founding members of the Bundesliga at its inception[4] and has spent a total of 56 seasons in the top division, thus making them the seventh longest participating club in the highest tier of the league.
The club has 155,000 members, and thus is the fourth largest club playing in German football.[5]
Since 1925 their stadium has been theWaldstadion, which is currently named Deutsche Bank Park for sponsorship reasons.[6]
Eintracht Frankfurt have either won or drawn more than three-quarters of their games as well as having finished the majority of their seasons placed in the top half of the table,[7] but also having the highest number of losses in the league (657).[8] With an averageattendance of 47,942 since 2013[9] the team also has one of the highest attendance ratings in the world and the eighth highest out of the 36 Bundesliga and2. Bundesliga teams. The player with the highest number of appearances (602) in the Bundesliga,Charly Körbel,[10] spent his entire senior career as adefender for Eintracht Frankfurt. The club's primary rival is local clubKickers Offenbach, although, due to spending most of their history in different divisions, the two have only played two league matches within the last 40 years.[when?][11]
With almost 14,000 active athletes in over 50 sports in 2024, Eintracht Frankfurt is the largestmulti-sports club in the world with a professional football team.[12]
The first team of Frankfurter Fußball-Club Victoria in 1899
The origins of the club go back to a pair of football clubs founded in 1899:Frankfurter Fußball-Club Victoria von 1899 – regarded as the original team in the club's history – andFrankfurter Fußball-Club Kickers von 1899.[citation needed] Both clubs were founding members of the newNordkreis-Liga in 1909.[citation needed] These two teams merged in May 1911 to becomeFrankfurter Fußball Verein (Kickers-Victoria), an instant success, taking three league titles from 1912 to 1914 in the Nordkreis-Liga and qualifying for the Southern German championship in each of those seasons.[citation needed] In turn,Frankfurter FV joined the gymnastics clubFrankfurter Turngemeinde von 1861 to formTuS Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861 in 1920.[citation needed] The German wordEintracht means 'harmony' or 'concord', and soEintracht is the equivalent ofUnited in English in the names of sports teams.[13]
Oberliga Süd match in 1946: Karlsruher FV v Eintracht Frankfurt
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, asTurngemeinde Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861 andSportgemeinde Eintracht Frankfurt (FFV) von 1899.
Historical chart of Eintracht Frankfurt league performance
Through the late 1920s and into the 1930s, Eintracht won a handful of local and regional championships, first in theKreisliga Nordmain, then in theBezirksliga Main andBezirksliga Main-Hessen. After being eliminated from the national level playoffs after quarterfinal losses in 1930 and 1931, they won their way to the final in 1932 where they were beaten 2–0 byBayern Munich, who claimed their first ever German championship. In 1933, German football was re-organized into sixteen Gauligen under theThird Reich, and the club played first division football in theGauliga Südwest, consistently finishing in the upper half of the table and winning their division in 1938.
Eintracht picked up where they left off after World War II, joining the new first divisionOberliga Süd. In 1946, Eintracht won the firstHessenpokal, and finished third in the Oberliga Süd a year later. In 1953, they would win the Oberliga Süd title, qualifying Eintracht for theGerman championship, though they did not make it to the final.
Former coachPaul Oßwald returned to the club for a third stint with Eintracht in 1958. In the1958–59 season the club won their Oberliga again, qualifying for the1959 German championship. Winning all six of the games in the group phase, Eintracht made it to the final with a perfect record; there, they would meet rivalsKickers Offenbach, the club that Oßwald joined from, and the runners up behind Eintracht in the Oberliga Süd. Frankfurt went on to win the final 5–3 after extra time, becoming German champions for the first and so far only time in front of 75,000 fans in Berlin'sOlympiastadion.[14]
As champions, Frankfurt would represent Germany in the1959–60 European Cup, where they would come to international prominence. Having beatenBSC Young Boys andWiener Sport-Club to make it to the semi-finals, they were drawn against Scottish championsRangers, who were considered favourites, at least in Scotland – Rangers managerScot Symon allegedly asked, "Eintracht, who are they?" before the game.[15] Eintracht won the first leg 6–1 at home, in a performance described as the greatest in the club's history.[16] They would score six more in the second leg atIbrox, winning 12–4 on aggregate. After the game, the Rangers players gave their opponents a guard of honour as they left the pitch.
Eintracht would return to Glasgow for thefinal atHampden Park, although they lost 7–3 toReal Madrid despite taking an early lead. The final was widely regarded as one of the best football matches ever played, remembered for ahat-trick byAlfredo Di Stéfano and four goals byFerenc Puskás.[17]
After their championship-winning year, Eintracht did not win the Oberliga again, though they were runners-up in1961 and1962. Both times they would finish second in the group phase of the German championship, missing out on the final.
The side earned themselves a place as one of the original 16 teams selected to play in theBundesliga, Germany's new professional football league, formed in1963. Eintracht played Bundesliga football for 33 consecutive seasons, finishing in the top half of the table for the majority of them. In the inaugural season, Eintracht finished 3rd behind1. FC Köln andMeidericher SV – the club has still never managed a better Bundesliga finish – and also reached the1964 DFB-Pokal Final.
Eintracht finished in the top half of the Bundesliga every season until1970–71. Although they didn't make it back to the European Cup, Eintracht did play in other non-UEFA European competitions, beatingFK Inter Bratislava to win the1967 Intertoto Cup in the last season of its original format. That year, they also reached the semi-final of theInter-Cities Fairs Cup, losing toDinamo Zagreb.
Eintracht would win the cup again in 1975, beatingMSV Duisburg 1–0. That season, they played in theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup for the first time, and in the1975–76 campaign, they would go far, reaching the semi-finals. Despite beatingWest Ham 2–1 at home, Eintracht were beaten 3–1 in the second leg and were knocked out, while also finishing a relatively low ninth place in the Bundesliga. The club then had a difficult start to the1976–77 season, but under new coachGyula Lóránt, appointed in November, Eintracht went unbeaten in the second half of the season. Lóránt, notable for introducing zonal marking to the Bundesliga,[citation needed] took Frankfurt into fourth place by the end of the season, finishing only two points behind championsBorussia Mönchengladbach. Soon, however, Lóránt would leave forBayern Munich, withDettmar Cramer coming the other way to coach Frankfurt. Cramer left at the end of the disappointing1977–78 season, replaced byOtto Knefler, who soon had to leave on health grounds.[19][20]
In January 1979,Friedel Rausch joined the club as head coach. This was one of two important arrivals in 1979, asCha Bum-kun would sign for Eintracht in July, becoming the first Korean to play in Europe. He would quickly become an icon in Frankfurt, scoring 12 league goals in his debut season.[21] EliminatingAberdeen,Dinamo București,Feyenoord andFC Zbrojovka Brno in the earlier rounds of theUEFA Cup, Eintracht reached the semi-finals, at which point only West German teams remained. Drawn against Bayern Munich, they won 5–1 in extra time to earn a place in the final.
Eintracht lost 3–2 in the first leg of thefinal to Borussia Mönchengladbach, the reigning champions. The two away goals, scored byHarald Karger and Hölzenbein, would prove crucial. Two weeks later, they hosted the return leg. With the score still at 0–0, Friedel Rausch sent on teenagerFred Schaub with 13 minutes to play. Almost immediately, Schaub scored what proved to be only goal of the game, winning Eintracht the title on away goals.[21]
AsLothar Buchmann succeeded Rausch, Eintracht won their third DFB-Pokal in1981. This effectively marked the end of Eintracht's golden period, as they began their battle with relegation.
In1984, they defeatedMSV Duisburg 6–1 on aggregate in the relegation playoff after finishing 16th; in1986 and1987, they would finish 15th.
After years as a bottom-half club in the Bundesliga, Eintracht had a successful1987–88 season, finishing in the top half of the league for the first time since 1982. More importantly, they won the1987–88 DFB-Pokal, with a 1–0 win overVfL Bochum in the1988 final. The goalscorer was HungarianLajos Détári, who became a hero among the club's fans. Only two days after the final, Détári was sold toOlympiacos for a large fee, helping to pay the club's debts.[22]
In1988–89 Eintracht found themselves in the relegation fight again.Jörg Berger was appointed coach and led the side to safety with a 4–1 aggregate win over1. FC Saarbrücken in the relegation playoff.
Title challenges in the early 90s and first relegation
A year later, Berger had taken the club to 3rd place, and was recognised as the best coach in the league. Berger left in 1991 after a 4th-place finish, but the squad now included players considered among the Bundesliga's best, such asUwe Bein,Uli Stein,Jørn Andersen,Manfred Binz,Tony Yeboah andAndreas Möller.[23]
Dragoslav Stepanović took over as coach when Berger left, and Eintracht would finish 3rd in both seasons he coached, although he left before the end of1992–93. Under Stepanović, Eintracht played what was considered some of the best football in Bundesliga history, making 'Stepi' a fan favourite to this day.[24] In1991–92, the club came closer than ever before to winning the Bundesliga. Going into the last game of the season, Eintracht were top of the table and only needed a win against already-relegatedHansa Rostock. With the scores level at 1–1 Eintracht were denied what seemed a clear penalty, they would go on to lose 2–1. Referee Alfons Berg later apologised for his decision, butVfB Stuttgart became champions.[25] Eintracht also came close in1993–94, underKlaus Toppmöller, leading the table at the halway point; however, they fell to 5th place and Toppmöller was sacked.
In the summer of 1994,Jupp Heynckes was appointed coach. Things quickly began to turn sour, as Heynckes fell out with key players Tony Yeboah,Maurizio Gaudino andJay-Jay Okocha. The club suspended all three players; Yeboah and Gaudino soon left. With the club in 13th, Heynckes decided to leave. For his role in breaking up the successful side of the early 90s, Heynckes is still disliked by many fans in Frankfurt.[26]
Relegation would come in1995–96, with neither club legend Charly Körbel or the previously successful Dragoslav Stepanovic able to rescue Eintracht. After 33 consecutive years in the Bundesliga, Frankfurt went down alongside1. FC Kaiserslautern, who had also been ever-present until 1996.
After a tumultuous debut campaign in the2. Bundesliga, Eintracht won the title in1997–98 and returned to the Bundesliga. Promotion coachHorst Ehrmantraut left in December, and Jörg Berger returned to try to save Eintracht once more. On the final day of the1998–99 season, Eintracht were expected to be relegated, but dramatically climbed out of the relegation zone on goal difference thanks to a late goal fromJan Åge Fjørtoft giving them a 5–1 win over Kaiserslautern.
The following year, in another struggle to avoid relegation, the club was docked two points for violating the conditions of their license.[27] Eintracht secured survival on the last day of the season with a win overSSV Ulm, who were relegated instead.[28] Eintracht would go down[vague] the season afterwards with Friedel Rausch in charge, and did not come close to promotion in2001–02.
Eintracht secured a Bundesliga return on the final day of the2002–03 season with a 6–3 win overReutlingen, dramatically scoring 3 in the last 10 minutes of the game.[29] They were then relegated straight back to the 2. Bundesliga, but were promoted again the season after, managed byFriedhelm Funkel. Funkel led the team to safety in2005–06 and also took Eintracht to theDFB-Pokal final for the first time since 1988, where they lost to Bayern Munich. As Bayern had already qualified for Europe, this also meant that Eintracht qualified for the UEFA Cup. After years of stability under Funkel,Michael Skibbe replaced him in 2009.
The2010–11 season ended with the club's fourth Bundesliga relegation. After setting a new record for most points in the first half of the season, the club struggled after the winter break, going seven games without scoring a goal. Coach Skibbe was replaced withChristoph Daum, but Eintracht went down[vague] again after winning just once in the second half of the season.[30][31]
One year later, Eintracht defeatedAlemannia Aachen 3–0 on the 32nd matchday of the2011–12 season, securing promotion to the Bundesliga.[32] This was followed up by a 6th-place finish in the Bundesliga in2012–13, qualifying Frankfurt for theEuropa League.
DFB Pokal and Europa League winners, participation in European competitions
Eintracht Frankfurt before the Europa League match at FC Salzburg on 28 February 2020
Having finished in the top half in2014–15, a season in which Eintracht'sAlexander Meier was the league's top scorer, the team struggled again in2015–16 andNiko Kovač was appointed coach in March 2016. Frankfurt survived only through the relegation playoff; ending the season in 16th place, they beat 1. FC Nürnberg 2–1 on aggregate in the playoff. In Kovač's first full year, his team survived comfortably and also reached thefinal of the2017 DFB-Pokal, where they were beaten by Borussia Dortmund.[33]
Eintracht reached their second DFB-Pokal final in a row in2017–18, this time winning 3–1 against heavy favourites Bayern Munich – who Kovač had already agreed to join from next season.[34] He was replaced byAdi Hütter.
In2018–19, Eintracht's attacking trio ofLuka Jović,Ante Rebić andSébastien Haller won lots of praise for their outstanding performances, scoring 41 league goals and 16Europa League goals between them and earning the nickname "the Buffalo Herd".[35] Making only their second appearance in the modern Europa League, Eintracht won all six group games againstLazio,Apollon Limassol andMarseille, and beat highly rated opponentsShakhtar Donetsk,Inter Milan andBenfica. In the semi-finals againstChelsea, Eintracht drew both legs 1–1 but ended up losing on penalties atStamford Bridge.[36] Chelsea would go on to win the tournament. Eintracht also missed out on Champions League qualification in the Bundesliga, dropping from 4th to 7th after losing their last two games.
With Jović, Rebić and Haller all leaving in the summer of 2019, Eintracht regressed in2019–20 and failed to qualify for Europe, but returned to the Europa League with a 5th-place finish in2020–21, after which Adi Hütter left for Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the2021–22 Europa League, Eintracht topped their group and stunnedBarcelona in the quarter finals, taking a 3–0 lead at theCamp Nou and eventually winning 3–2 with approximately 30,000 travelling Frankfurt fans in attendance.[37][38] Eintracht went on to beat West Ham home and away in the semi-finals to set up their first European final since 1980.[39]
Since November 2024, the executive board consists of Axel Hellmann (CEO),Markus Krösche (head of sports) and Julien Zamberk (head of finances) and Philipp Reschke (head of fan relations, merchandising and HR).[44]
The Eintracht crest is based on the city coat of arms.
The club crest derives from the coat of arms of the city ofFrankfurt, which itself is a reference to the one-headedImperial Eagle of the 13th century.[45]
The crest has evolved showing little significant change until 1980, when a stylized eagle in black and white was chosen to represent the team.[46] In Eintracht's centenary year of 1999, the club decided to re-adopt a more traditional eagle crest. Since 2005, Eintracht has had a living mascot, agolden eagle namedAttila from the nearbyHanau Zoo,[47] who has currently[when?] been present at over 200 different games.[48]
Centennial kit in 1999–2000
The official club colours of red, black, and white have their origins in the colours of the founding clubsFrankfurter FC Viktoria andFrankfurter 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 ofPrussia.[49] When the clubs merged, officials decided to adopt the colours of both sides. Since local rivalKickers 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. In the 2023–2024 season, the home kit is black and red.[50]
In the2021–22 UEFA Europa League, the Eagles played an unbeaten campaign, mostly sporting an all-white kit that gained them the nicknamela bestia blanca (literallythe white beast in Spanish), a wordplay on the Spanish termla bestia negra (literallythe black beast, also meaningbogey team in Spanish). This nickname was received after Eintracht knockedFC Barcelona out of the competition atCamp Nou.[51][52]
Eintracht's eagle (Adler) over the years: the logo ofFrankfurter FV 1911 and the red eagle ofTuS Eintracht Frankfurt 1920 andSportgemeinde Eintracht Frankfurt 1967 before today's more traditional style logo was adopted
The club is nicknamed "Die Adler" ("The Eagles"), which derives from their logo. A nickname still popular among supporters isSGE, taken from the club's old official nameSportgemeindeEintracht (Frankfurt), which roughly translates into English as "Sports Community Harmony."
The nicknameLaunische Diva ("Moody Diva") was heard most often in the early 1990s, when the club would comfortably defeat top teams only to surprisingly lose to lesser clubs.[53][54][55]
The nicknameSchlappekicker ("Slipper Kickers") has been around since the 1920s, whenJ. & C. A. Schneider, a local manufacturer of shoes and especially slippers (calledSchlappe in the regionalHessian dialect) was a major financial backer of the club and helped propel it to national relevance.[56]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Richard Kress, (born 6 March 1925) is the oldest Bundesliga rookie, making his debut at 38 years and 171 days on the opening day of league play on 24 August 1963. He scored his first Bundesliga goal at 38 years and 248 days of age.[citation needed]
Eintracht hold the record for most consecutive away games without a win (32) from 20 August 1985 to 25 August 1987.[citation needed]
The club's initial games from 1899 to 1906 were played on the formerHundswiese field, whose present day location would be nearHessischer Rundfunk. Following new regulations that pitches needed to be surrounded by a fence for the purpose of official games, the team established a new pitch by theEschersheimer Landstraße calledVictoriaplatz in 1906, for which they purchased stands at a price of 350marks in 1908. From 1912 the team moved to a new ground at Roseggerstraße inDornbusch with more facilities, before relocating to the formerRiederwaldstadion in 1920 following the fusion ofFrankfurter FV andFrankfurter Turngemeinde von 1861.
The ground was inaugurated as Waldstadion ("Forest Stadium") in 1925 with the German championship final match betweenFSV Frankfurt vs.1. FC Nürnberg.The facility was renovated for the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. As of 2025[update], for Bundesliga fixtures the maximum capacity is 59,500.[67]
Though the media usually refer to the ground by the official name, Deutsche Bank Park, Eintracht fans faithful typically use the original name, Waldstadion.
Eintracht Frankfurt U21 is the reserve team of Eintracht Frankfurt. The team played as U23 (Under 23) to emphasize the character of the team as a link between the youth academy and professional team. The club board decided to dissolve the team after the 2013–14 season while playing in the regular league system in the fourth tier, theRegionalliga Süd. On 14 February 2022, Eintracht Frankfurt applied to have a reserves team to be re-admitted to the5th tierHessenliga for the 2022–23 season.[68]In the first season after being re-admitted, Frankfurt II won the Hessenliga and got promoted to theRegionalliga Südwest, where they play now.
The club's original rival wasFrankfurt city-rivalFSV Frankfurt. In both clubs' early years, there used to be[vague] a fierce rivalry, but after World War II Eintracht proved to be the stronger club and the ways parted[vague] and the rivalry deteriorated due to lack of contact.[citation needed] Nowadays,[when?] the fan relations tend to be friendly.[70] The2011–12 season saw Eintracht play FSV in a league match for the first time in almost 50 years. The last league game between the two had been played on 27 January 1962, then in theOberliga Süd. For the first of the two matches, FSV's home game on 21 August 2011, the decision was made to move to Eintracht's stadium as FSV'sBornheimer Hang only holds less than 11,000 spectators.[71] Eintracht won 4–0. The second match on 18 February 2012 ended in another victory for Eintracht, a 6–1 rout.
A friendship between two Eintracht fan clubs and supporters of English clubOldham Athletic has lasted for over 30 years after fans from each club met at an international football tournament. Small sections of each club's support will[when?] pay a visit to the other's ground at least once a season.[72] Eintracht supporters also have an international friendship with supporters of Italian clubAtalanta.[73][74]
Within the football section, the sports club directly manages only the youth system and the reserve team. The professional footballers are managed as a separate limited corporation,Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball-AG, which is a subsidiary of the parent club.
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