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fromThomas Kilchenstein
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Eintracht Frankfurt often made the turn on match day 34 – but this time the air is out.
Heartbeat finale. Endgame. Destiny game. There are a lot of exaggerated words for the 34th and last matchday of a Bundesliga season. 90 minutes to correct or achieve goals, 90 minutes to avert the worst – or 90 minutes of boredom in a game about the golden pineapple. Just like on Saturday when Eintracht Frankfurt meets SC Paderborn, for both of them it’s essentially no longer about anything, the Hessians can no longer intervene in international business, and East Westphalia has to leave the first division after one year.
But of course that’s not true, at least at Eintracht Frankfurt: it’s always about something, you can always get a better placement, which is not entirely irrelevant for the TV table. On average, every better placement means around two million euros more in revenue. The Frankfurters, currently listed exactly in the middle of the table, can still be eighth, ninth or tenth.
It is the first time that the Bundesliga is still playing football at the end of June, but for well-known reasons. However, it is the first time in three years that the last matchday for Eintracht Frankfurt is not all that much, that a exhausting round is more or less comfortable. On Saturday players may come back who left the club safely (Gelson Fernandes or Jonathan de Guzman) or who have not played for injuries (Marco Russ). Anyway, the air is a bit out.
May 14, 2011 – the unnecessary descent: Aleksandar Vasoski (left), Marcel Heller and Patrick Ochs push frustration in Dortmund.
© JAN HUEBNER
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Because Eintracht Frankfurt is actually used to putting things on the back burner if necessary. Hardly any team can do this better. Who does not remember that May 29, 1999 when the club held the class with a glorious 5: 1 in its own stadium against the Champions League aspirant 1. FC Kaiserslautern and the famous exaggerator by Jan-Aage Fjörtoft of a gate. Basically, that was the mother of all miracles in the Frankfurt Waldstadion. A year later, on May 20, 2000, the 2-1 win over SSV Ulm was only the logical culmination of an impressive final sprint under Felix Magath, which also prevented relegation at the last moment.
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Or in 2003, when Eintracht, actually already hopelessly behind, turned a 3: 3 against SV Reutlingen into a 6: 3 within a few minutes and literally snatched the promotion to the Bundesliga from Mainz. Alex Schur will never forget his 90th goal in life. These two games, in which something was made possible, which actually seemed impossible, created the myth that something extraordinary can still happen on the very last day of the game. Gladly another Bundesliga promotion, such as that under coach Friedhelm Funkel on May 22, 2005, after a fairly safe 3-0 win over Wacker Burghausen.
In the past ten years, however, there have only been four seasons in which all the decisive dice for Eintracht Frankfurt had already been cast on the 34th day: In the 2016/2017 season, the last party ended 2-2 against RB Leipzig, which Eintracht cut as Eleventh from, in the 2013/2014 round you lost 1: 2 at FC Augsburg, 13th place at the end. In 2011/2012, the second-class Hessen had long since moved up to the Bundesliga, the 0-1 loss at Karlsruher SC did not change anything, only a few incorrigible wanted to storm the square, a real police army prevented them. In 2009/2010 Eintracht lost 1-3 at VfL Wolfsburg, 10th place.
May 25, 2003 – the rise: Alexander Schur cheers after his goal to 6: 3 against Reutlingen.
© Heiko Rhode
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In all other seasons, however, there was still a lot of tinder in the game: 2018/2019 was about the European Cup, although Eintracht went down 1-5 without a sound in Müchen, but because Mainz beat Hoffenheim’s immediate competitor, it was enough for the ox tour. A year earlier the Frankfurter had it, 0: 1 at Schalke, three points were missing for international business, eighth place, Europe would have lured in 2014/15, but a 2-1 against Bayer Leverkusen in their own stadium was not enough because other teams not playing for the Hessen this time. Finally, a last-minute goal against VfL Wolfsburg for 2: 2 in the 2012/2013 round gave Eintracht an excellent sixth place and thus the Europa League under coach Armin Veh. The Hessians were 0: 2, just ascended, already behind, before two goals by Jesus Vallejo and an own goal brought the stadium in the city forest to a boil in the last minutes.
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But of course there were not only happy ends for the Frankfurt. In 2011, in the “second half of shame” the Hessians lost 1-3 on May 14 to champions Borussia Dortmund – even though they had led 1-0. This sealed one of the most superfluous relegations, that Eintracht would have needed a win and a draw from Wolfsburg. Neither came, 17th place, and a “Keep it up like this” from the executive board Axel Hellmann, who had publicly set a fragrance brand for the first time.
And finally there was that May 14th in 2016. One point would have been enough for Eintracht Frankfurt against Werder Bremen at the time to make the direct relegation and send the Bremen team into the relegation. But in the 88th, Papy Djilobodji scored with a marble goal and the Frankfurt team, who was set up extremely defensively by coach Niko Kovac, had to do an extra round, a successful one against 1. FC Nürnberg. Werder Bremen, to make the bow to this very last 34th matchday, would be god glad they are currently getting this far. (By Thomas Kilchenstein)
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