Frankfurt were triumphant in the UEL final last night as they successfully vanquished Scottish side, Rangers F.C to claim their second UEL title.
Oliver Glasner and his men had their dreams come true as they were able to go all the way, clinching the second tier European trophy. The German side who were unbeaten throughout the entirety of the competition stunned Rangers, coming from behind to level at 1-1, and eventually seeing their opponents out of the room with a 5-4 spot-kick win
For the second time in a row, the Europa winner was decided on penalties as Villareal also needed an 11-10 nail-biting shoot out to beat Manchester United to the gold last year. But this time around, the winner didn’t start the shoot-out.
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Rangers had gone ahead with forward, Joe Aribo capitalizing on a mishap at Eintracht’s defence but the latter fought back thanks to an acute Rafael Borre equalizer that caught Calvin Bassey and his partner sleeping.
Both teams fought to the end, nailing, clawing and in the ensuing penalty shoot-out, Kevin Trapp denied Rangers’ Aaron Ramsey while Frankfurt converted all five kicks to win the competition
Speaking of Trapp, the German shot stopper, who was named the man of the match, was highly instrumental in his side’s ambitions saving a potential extra time winner from Ryan Kent before ultimately foiling Ramsey’s penalty.
The hero of the moment had his words to pour out post match, saying: It feels incredible. I’m still trying to catch my breath. For us, for Frankfurt, for the region – for the whole of Germany, I think it’s a wonderful thing. To be able to give back to our fans this way is so special. We believed that we could do it, but you saw we had to dig deep for this win. We never gave up on ourselves, we always believed. It was the most intense experience of our lives for many of us and we’ll need time to recover. This is not my night. It’s everyone’s night. It doesn’t come down to one player, it comes down to a whole team. The league season was a disappointment because we didn’t qualify for Europe, now the euphoria is huge as we look forward to the UEFA Champions League. It’s hard to find the words.”
Oliver Glasner also commented on their prestiged victory saying: “It was our 13th game in Europe and we didn’t lose any of them. We came from behind today, so I can’t find the words to describe what the boys did today and this season, and they don’t often fail me. I’m proud for my players and my work. It was exactly the game we expected. They are very physical, they play long balls. We had to dictate the pace. Our penalties were very good. We have been practising in the last month. Did I think about the UEFA Champions League next season? No. I never talk about the future because we don’t know what happens in the next months. I told the players we had a fantastic journey and that journey should not end in Seville, but tomorrow when we come home with the trophy.”
As earlier mentioned, it is quite interesting to note that Frankfurt didn’t lose a single match en route to the trophy and were sensational in their campaign. They were the true meaning of undefeated. Conquering Betis in the last 16, upsetting Catalan Titans, Barcelona, knocking out English sensation, Westham, Glasner and co did a near perfect, near 100% job and were rewarded with the gold for their efforts with. The win also meant Frankfurt automatically qualified for the UCL next season having failed to do so via the canonical pathway.
Frankfurt first won the UEL in 1980, defeating German counterparts, Monchengladbach 3-3 on aggregate in a two legged final.
No doubt, players like Kamada, Borre, Filip Kostic were of great essence in helping their club achieve this feat. 5 of Frankfurt’s goals came from Kamada, who tied with Patson for fourth highest goalscorer of the competition and was the highest for his team
Rafael Borre had 4 goals to his name, including the all-important final goal while Kostic had the highest number of assists in the competition at 6. The Serbian was also the mastermind behind the elimination of their greatest threat and cup favorite, Barcelona as he bagged a brace to capitulate the Spanish giants 4-3 on aggregate.
Frankfurt have done it, they have achieved what they’ve been dreaming about all season long. This fall, the German side would have the chance to feature in the classic UCL and they will look to build on their growing reputation. If not win, at least make a name and advance as far as ability and fate can drive them.