On Wednesday, May 18th, 2022 Eintracht Frankfurt and the Rangers F. C. will meet in the 2021 – 2022 UEFA Europa League final from the legendary and historic Ramón Sánchez – Pizjuán Stadium.
Both of these two struggling European football clubs will now have the chance to end their current decades – long championship cup droughts on Wednesday evening when they meet for the 2021 – 2022 Europa League final that is set to kick – off in Seville, Andalusia, Spain.
For Eintracht Frankfurt, this match will mark the possibility for them to win their 1st – European football championship trophy in over 40 – years. For the Rangers, this contest will present them with the chance for their 1st – continental championship title in approximately 50 – years.
A victory in this 2nd – tier competition in the Spanish city of Seville will also assure the winner a guaranteed spot in the group – stage of next year’s Champions League football tournament.
“For Eintracht, for the fans, for the club, for the players, (winning again after 42 years) would be the most important thing ever,” the head coach of Eintracht Frankfurt Oliver Glasner conveyed to UEFA.com. “It has extraordinary significance, great significance, and that’s why we’re going to try our best so that we come home with the trophy and spend one or two nights celebrating with our fans.”
Last Finals appearance for Eintracht Frankfurt
This important match on Wednesday will be Eintracht Frankfurt’s 1st – European final since they beat Borussia Mönchengladbach way back in 1980 in that all – German match – up with the UEFA Cup on the line, which was the predecessor to the current Europa League Cup.
Last Finals appearance for the Rangers
The Rangers were close to feeling the glory of winning in the European professional football circuit when they played in the UEFA Cup final a long time ago which was actually back in 2008, but unfortunately for the Rangers they suffered a loss during that Cup final to Zenit St. Petersburg. The Scottish club known simply as the Rangers are seeking their 1st – European championship trophy since earning the Cup Winners’ Cup during the 1972 season.
The Impact of Fans and Loyal Supporters of these 2 – Clubs
Both football clubs have a huge and strongly loyal fan bases, and 10’s of 1,000’s of supporters are anticipated to flock into Southern Spain this week in order to try to witness their side succeed which has generated quite the concern from local Spanish authorities as well as UEFA too.
There had been significant incidents of fan violence involving visiting fans in Seville, Spain when the local squads of Sevilla and Real Betis hosted matches earlier during the 2021 – 2022 Europa League competition.
Before the Europa League semifinal match between Eintracht Frankfurt and West Ham played out in Germany, more than 30 – arrests were made when die – hard fans of both clubs clashed in multiple spots throughout Frankfurt, Germany.
Extreme fans of the Eintracht Frankfurt football club also made headlines when over 30,000 crazy supporters made their way in to the Camp Nou Stadium located in Barcelona, Spain for the 2nd – leg of the quarterfinals in this competition.
UEFA has recently requested for fans that do not have tickets for the match not travel to Sevilla, Spain for 2021 – 2022 Europa League Cup final match on Wednesday, May 18th, 2022, and they have been formally warned about the dangers of trying to purchase tickets to this match on the secondary market for obvious reasons.
It is estimated that approximately 40,000 seats will be available at the Ramón Sánchez – Pizjuán Stadium, but just somewhere around 10,000 tickets were assigned to each side involved in this championship match. Sevilla city officials has agreed to open fan zones in order to accommodate those that are not able to make it in to the game, but those areas will be heavily monitored and policed to prevent any tragic consequences of poor behavior or disorderly conduct from the wild and crazy supporters in attendance of those fan zones.
Preview of the 2021 – 2022 Europa League Finals
This Europa League finals match will feature 2 – extremely physical as well as high – energy football clubs that have both rode the wave to the finals with their impressive individual runs.
The Rangers, who have been led by their captain and top goal scorer in James Tavernier, lost their 1st – couple of group games but ultimately powered through as they gained more and more momentum as the tournament progressed.
The Rangers will be boosted by having already eliminated 2 other German football clubs from this competition in Borussia Dortmund during the 1st – knockout round as well as Leipzig during the semifinals.
“When you’re in the knockout stages, it’s all or nothing, and the character of my players has been outstanding,” the Rangers head coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst explained. “To be able to win against those strong opponents is really good, so we have the character to play this final, we have the qualities, and we also have the belief. That’s the most important thing, to have the belief that you can achieve.”
Eintracht Frankfurt, who has been led by their veteran goal – keeper in Kevin Trapp, made it to the finals as an undefeated club following them eliminating some very strong opposing forces in Real Betis in the Round – of – 16 in this competition, as well as Barcelona in the quarterfinals, and not to mention defeating West Ham during the semifinals.
Eintracht Frankfurt is attempting to become just the 3rd – unbeaten squad to win the championship title during the Europa League era. Chelsea managed to do that back in 2019, and Villarreal also accomplished that goal last year in 2021.
“Every team that gets to the final has earned it because it’s a long road. You have to win a lot of matches,” Coach Glasner goes on to say. “Rangers eliminated two top teams from the Bundesliga over two legs. That shows they’re very good and also shows they’re well equipped for German football, so I’m expecting a very even, hard – fought contest.”
The last encounter between the Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt was quite painful for the Rangers. The Scottish football club gave up a total of 6 – goals in both of the 2 – legs of the European Cup semifinals way back in 1960, and they were deprived of the opportunity to play a home final in Glasgow, Scotland.
Eintracht Frankfurt eventually went on to lose in the finals that year to Real Madrid with the final tally of 7 to 3 so both of these clubs are pretty desperate to celebrate this Europa League Cup championship title on Wednesday.
Frankfurt yet to make it back to Europe’s top club competition since that final in 1960, while the Rangers made their last appearance in the group – stage of the Champions League during the 2010 – 2011 European football season.
The last time the UEFA Cup final was played in Seville, Spain back in 2003, the Rangers’ Scottish rival Celtic lost the title to the José Mourinho managed club of Porto.
Sources:
Azzoni, Tales. “Frankfurt and Rangers to meet in Europa League final”. The Associated Press. May 16, 2022.
UEFA News Services. “Eintracht vs Rangers in the 2022 UEFA Europa League final: When is it? Where is it?”. UEFA.com. May 17, 2022.