Eintracht Frankfurt – Facts, Statistics And History
Founded in the late 19th century, Eintracht Frankfurt FC has over 120 years of history.
The club might not be the most successful in Germany, but it has spent the majority of the Bundesliga era in the top flight and is one of only five German clubs to win the UEFA Cup.
Frankfurt has lifted the DFB-Pokal on five occasions. This is a club with a lengthy and winding history, a club that often resides in the shadows of Germany’s biggest teams, but has returned to relevance in recent years thanks to several strong seasons.
Their biggest rivals are Kickers Offenbach. This isn’t a fixture that gets much airtime, however, with the clubs spending most seasons in separate divisions.
They have played just twice in the league since 1976, and have clocked only three meetings (all in the DFB-Pokal) since the turn of the century. Frankfurt FC have come out on top in all three cup duels, the most recent of which being a 3-0 win in 2009.
History
Two Frankfurt-based clubs founded in 1899 — Frankfurter Fußball-Club Viktoria von 1899 and Frankfurter Fußball-Club Kickers von 1899 – merged in 1911 to form Frankfurter Fußball Verein, who enjoyed instant success, winning three straight Nordkreis-Liga titles.
The name evolved further in 1920 when the football club joined with a gymnastics club called Frankfurter Turngemeinde von 1861.
This was a short-lived affair, however, as the clubs split again seven years later, but the results on the pitch remained strong with several regional trophies to their name. The final of the German championship was reached in 1932, though they lost to Bayern Munich.
German football was reorganised during the Nazi reign. Once sport resumed after World War Two, they won a couple of Oberliga Süd titles in the 1950s, and even won the national title at the end of the decade.
The following year, Frankfurt FC made it all the way to the European Cup final, playing out a thriller against Real Madrid.
Eintracht Frankfurt were among Germany’s best teams in the 1960s, earning a spot among the 16 founding members of the Bundesliga. They finished third in the inaugural campaign, and were regularly in the top half.
Two DFB-Pokal triumphs were added in 1974 and 1975, but the club slipped from contention through the 1980s. They faced relegation playoffs a couple of times and were largely a bottom half side throughout the decade.
Die Adler were competitive again in the early 1990s, finishing third thrice and fourth once over a four-year spell at the start of the decade.
Tony Yeboah was starring at that point, finishing top scorer in three consecutive seasons and tying with Jay-Jay Okocha in the following campaign. When Yeboah departed, Frankfurt FC were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time in their history.
A yoyo period followed. The club was promoted in just its second season in the 2. Bundesliga, but they were relegated three years later.
It was another two seasons in the second tier before they went straight back down. The Launische Diva competed in six straight Bundesliga campaigns until they were relegated in 2011.
The club was back up at the first time of asking, led by the goal scoring exploits of Alexander Meier. They have been in the Bundesliga ever since, recording a best finish of fifth in 2020-21 and going all the way to the Europa League semi-final in 2018-19.
While never winning the Bundesliga, Eintracht Frankfurt have been a fixture at the top of German football. They became just the second team to win the UEFA Cup in 1980, and the club has won 56% of its 141 matches in European competition.
Eintracht Frankfurt Top Scorers
- Karl Ehmer – 225
- Bernd Holzenbein – 207
- Bernd Nickel – 175
- Jurgen Grabowski – 140
- Adam Schmitt – 138
- Erwin Stein – 138
- Alexander Meier – 137
- Alfred Pfaff – 136
- Alfred Kraus – 103
- Fritz Schaller – 101
Most Eintracht Frankfurt Appearances
- Charley Korbel – 728
- Jurgen Grabowski – 536
- Bernd Nickel – 528
- Bernd Holzenbein – 516
- Uwe Bindewald – 442
- Adolf Bechtold – 433
- Dieter Lindner – 416
- Oka Nikolov – 415
- Manfred Binz – 411
- Werner Heilig – 397
Eintracht Frankfurt Honours
- German Championship – 1959
- DFB-Pokal – 1973-74, 1974-75, 1980-81, 1987-88, 2017-88
- 2. Bundesliga – 1997-98
- UEFA Cup – 1979-80
- Intertoto Cup – 1967
Eintracht Frankfurt Facts
- Highest transfer fee paid – €22,300,000 for Luka Jovic from Benfica, 2019
- Highest transfer fee received – €63,000,000 for Luka Jovic from Real Madrid, 2019
- Record home attendance – 81,000 versus FK Pirmasens, 1959
- Record Bundesliga win – 9-1 against Rot-Weiss Essen, 1974
- Most Bundesliga goals in a season – 28, Andre Silva, 2020-21
- Most capped player – 114, Makoto Hasebe, Japan
Best Players
For Premier League fans, Jay-Jay Okocha and Tony Yeboah are likely the most recognisable Eintracht Frankfurt players. In more recent times, Luka Jovic and Sebastien Haller have starred ahead of big-money moves.
Charly Körbel is the club’s all-time leading appearance maker by a huge distance and holds the Bundesliga appearance record. Karl Ehmer was remarkably prolific, scoring over a goal per game on his way to 225 for the Schlappekicker.
Cha Bum-kun starred during the late 1970s and early 1980s as the club enjoyed plenty of success, including their UEFA Cup win.
Uli Stein is widely considered one of the best Bundesliga goalkeepers of all-time, and he enjoyed many of his peak seasons with Frankfurt FC. Stein made 224 appearances for the club, and was named to the 1990-91 Bundesliga Team of the Season.