Eintracht Frankfurt are UEFA Europa League Champions

After a long, hard season of incredible games and amazing footballing moments, Eintracht Frankfurt finally got the crown of being Europa League champions. They are now part of the elite few that have tasted European glory. It wasn’t an easy ride, and the final was a hard-fought one that could have gone either way. 

With them in the hall of fame now, we expect to see more of them in Europe, and maybe this time shine as one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. As a result, they can improve their historical standings, just like some underdog teams in the NASCAR cup series race at WWTR. 

Frankfurt is a top team, but they didn’t have a very good season in the Bundesliga as they were far off their usual spot in the league. It seemed like they wouldn’t even make it to Europe next season, but rather than make it to just any European spot; they would now play in the UEFA Champions League. It’s a great way to end a horrible season.

The Team’s Season Overview

The 2022/2023 season will be different for Frankfurt after they were crowned Europa League champions. It means that despite finishing 11th on the log, they will be playing champions league football, and as a result, they will earn extra cash for participating in the competition. 

In that case, it is a good way to crown a not-so-good season. In the 34 games they played this season in the German Bundesliga, Frankfurt won 10 games, drew 12, and lost 12. That is a terrible stat for any team that wants to compete at the highest level. Aside from terrible results, they didn’t do well in the goals department either. 

They scored 45 goals and conceded 49, and at the end of the season, they got only 42 points. This is an offseason compared to last season, where they got 60 points and were only one point away from the UCL spot. However, they conceded 53 goals, which improved defensively, which is the only positive takeaway.

Road to Europa Glory

After a breezing Group D round of matches, Frankfurt began their quest for Europa League victory. The team was undefeated throughout the group stages, where they won three games and drew three, earning them 12 points from a possible 18, perfect for keeping the first in the group. 

We head into the knockout round to witness incredible showdowns with the group stage done. It started with the round of 32, but they got an automatic progression to the next round. With that, they were to face Real Betis, and it wasn’t an easy one. They won the first leg at Betis, but a 90th-minute goal from Borja Iglesias sent the game to extra time.

It was looking like we would have a penalty shootout. However, an own goal from Guido Rodriguez sent Frankfurt to the next round. It ended 3-2 on aggregate for the German team. After that, they faced another Spanish team, and this time it was Barcelona. An incredible 3-2 win in the first leg was enough to take them to the semis, where they faced and beat West Ham 3-1 on aggregate.  

The Final Showdown

After an exciting run in the competition, they finally made it to the Europa League final, and it has been a long time coming. They’ve been fighting for a chance to play for the trophy, but it hasn’t worked out as well as they would’ve loved. Therefore, finally reaching the final was enough to make a horrible season better.

However, there is one more major hurdle, and that is to beat Rangers, a team with a better European pedigree. As a result, it won’t be an easy match, and it wasn’t with the Rangers drawing the first blood in the 57th minute. However, after fighting hard, the teams were level in the 69th minute, and the battle dragged on into extra time. 

It looked like we were all set for another penalty shootout, and that is what we got. But this time, we didn’t have to watch the entire team play a penalty as Kevin Trapp saved Aaron Ramsey’s kick and Rafael Santos Borre scored the 5th shoot for Frankfurt to take the crown to Germany!

How it Affects Next Season

Next season will be an incredible one because, as things stand, Frankfurt will play in the 2022/2023 season, and they can now go all out in the summer window to recruit top talents. In that case, they have the opportunity to build on a successful end to the season. That one game has turned around the chaos of a season they’ve had around.

Therefore, we expect a stronger team next season, and if possible, we would hope to see them flourish in the UEFA Champions League, giving us an incredible underdog story.