EINTRACHT FRANKFURT
UPDATED FOR 2024/25 - AUGUST 2024
Founded: Mar 8, 1899
Club Members: 140,000
Nickname: Die Adler
Coach: Dino Toppmöller
Captain: Kevin Trapp
German Champions / Bundesliga: 1
DFB-Pokal: 5
Bundesliga.2 Champions: 1
UEFA Cup: 1
UEFA Europa League: 1
Intertoto Cup: 1
Landespokal Hessen Winner: 1
Website: www.eintracht.de
A Bundesliga heavyweight, Eintracht Frankfurt are one of the oldest clubs in Germany and their origins can be traced back to 1899 with the formation of two clubs - Frankfurter Fußball-Club Viktoria von 1899 and Frankfurter Fußball-Club Kickers von 1899. As with many teams that make up German football today, a series of mergers over time starting with these two long forgotten clubs led to the formation in 1920 of the club we know today as Eintracht Frankfurt.
Loosely translating as "United Frankfurt", Eintracht Frankfurt spent their formative years competing in regional championships picking up a few titles along the way; and during this period the club also moved to the Waldstadion where Deutsche Bank Park stands today. Following the upheaval of World War 2, Eintracht picked up where they left off and in 1959 secured their only national league title with a 5-3 victory over Hessen rivals Kickers Offenbach. An outstanding run in the following season's European Cup took them all the way to the final at Hampden Park in Glasgow where they faced the mighty Real Madrid. In one of the most famous matches of all time, four goals by Ferenc Puskas and a hat-trick by Alfredo Di Stefano denied Eintracht as the Spanish giants triumphed 7-3 to win their fifth successive European Cup title.
Given their strong performances to date however, it was no surprise that Eintracht were amongst the clubs chosen to be founder members of the Bundesliga in 1963 - even withstanding the fact that the German FA (DFB) still to this day have their headquarters next to Eintracht's ground. Over the next 30 years 'The Eagles' established themselves as one of the country's top clubs, finishing third in the Bundesliga on no fewer than five occasions, in addition to claiming the DFB-Pokal four times and triumphing in an all-German UEFA Cup final against Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1980.
By the mid-nineties however, Eintracht had begun to struggle and in 1996 the famous old club was relegated from the Bundesliga (alongside fellow founder members 1.FC Kaiserslautern) for the first time in its history. This triggered a yo-yo period which saw the club either promoted or relegated in eight of the next fifteen seasons. Despite re-establishing themselves as a top-flight club over the past 10 years or so, their reputation for capriciousness has followed them ever since. However, the same can't be said about Eintracht's fans who consistently pack out Deutsche Bank Park and are regarded amongst the most passionate in German football. They are also credited with introducing 'Italian-style' support to German stadiums; using singing, chanting, flag-waving, pyrotechnics and tifos to create match atmospheres untypical of German football at the time.
Back on the pitch, Eintracht enjoyed their next taste of success in 2017-18 when led by the triumvirate of Luka Jovic, Ante Rebic and Sebastian Haller, they won their first DFB-Pokal for 30 years with a hard fought, and largely unexpected, 3-1 win over Bayern München. They paired a number of top-half finishes in the Bundesliga with a strong showing in the 2019 UEFA Cup, before lifting the Europa League trophy with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory over Rangers FC in 2022 .
GROUND DETAILS
Ground Name: Deutsche Bank Park
Architect: GMP International
Year Opened: 2005
Renovations: 2022 - 2023
Capacity: 58,000 (20,000 standing)
Record Attendance: 81,000 (1959)
Executive Boxes: 83
Executive Box Seats: 1,000
Business Seats: 2,200
Wheelchair Spaces: 187
Construction Costs: €126m
Undersoil Heating: Yes
Running Track: No
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Pitch Size: 105m x 68m
Website: www.deutschebankpark.de
Grounds:
Hundswiese (1899 - 1906)
Victoriaplatz (1906 - 1912)
Roseggerstraße (1912 - 1920)
Riederwaldstadion (1920 - 1925)
Waldstadion (1925 - 2005)
Commerzbank Arena (2005 - 2020) *
Deutsche Bank Park (2020 - ) *
* Stadium Renamed
In preparation for the 2006 World Cup, the old Waldstadion ('Stadium in the Woods') - Eintracht's home since 1925 - underwent a €126 million remodelling between 2002-05, albeit without any disruption to matches. The result was a stadium that looked as though it had been designed and built from scratch; and so, although technically a 'rebuild', Deutsche Bank Park became the third stadium to stand on the site.
With Frankfurt-am-Main being one of world's major financial centres, it's perhaps not surprising that the new stadium should have been named after banks, and after being known as the Commerzbank Arena since its opening, the stadium will be referred to as 'Deutsche Bank Park' from the 2020-21 season. With a capacity of 58,000, the stadium opened with the Confederations Cup match between Germany and Australia in May 2005, before hosting four group games and a quarter-final in the World Cup the following year.
Between 2022 and 2023, the stadium underwent its first redevelopment since 2005 when the Nordwest Kurve (home to Eintracht's most ardent support) was converted into a large standing terrace like the "Südtribüne" at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund and increased the capacity from 51,500 to 58,000 spectators.
Primarily a football-only arena (it is also used as a venue for American Football and concerts), gone are the running tracks and vast open terraces of the old Waldstadion, and it's two-tier construction runs continuously around the arena separated by a band of executive boxes. One of it's most striking features is the impressive retractable tent-like roof (the world's largest steel-rope membrane interior roof) which, when not in use, is impressively stored inside a huge LED video cube weighing thirty tonnes and suspended high above the centre circle. The stadium is 'green' as well - with rainwater collected and re-used throughout the venue.
Eintracht's most vocal support gather in the Nordwestkurve. Visiting supporters are located in the opposite Ostkurve with the lower tier terrace accessed through gate 20, and the seats of the upper tier accessed through gates 17, 19 and 21.
BUYING TICKETS
Ticket Office:
Website: www.eintracht.de
Telephone: +49 (0) 800 7431899
Email: info@eintrachtfrankfurt.de
Average Attendance:
2023-2024: 56,959 (Bundesliga)
2022-2023: 50,012 (Bundesliga)
2021-2022: 26,338 (Bundesliga) *
2020-2021: N/A *
2019-2020: 35,435 (Bundesliga) *
* Season affected by COVID pandemic
Expected Ticket Availability
As one of the best supported clubs in the country, demand often comes close to exceeding supply. That's not to say however that tickets aren't available and that it's another "Dortmund or Bayern"- like situation. You do need to act fast when they go on sale though. Season ticket sales are limited to about 50% of total capacity, so roughly 29,000 day tickets are made available for each match, ostensibly to give as many fans as possible who can't commit to being season ticket holders a chance to see Eintracht in action, but possibly also because day tickets tend to be more profitable to clubs !
Eintracht's website is Ausländer (foreigner) friendly and it provides information about buying tickets in English. Tickets (if you're quick) can be bought for most matches although you'll find Frankfurt's ticket pricing a bit complicated. Instead of adopting the simple ABC approach to categorising matches like many other clubs, they've over-egged the cake somewhat by deciding on no less than five different match categories (A-E) and as many different seating classes (1-5). Therefore, your ticket price will vary greatly depending on the quality of opposition facing Eintracht and where you want to watch the action from. We've emailed Eintracht to ask about ticket prices for this season. So far, no answer but, as a reference, 2023-24 Tageskarten prices for full payers ranged from €28 - €76 for seats, and €15 for a place on the terraces.
Information about visiting Deutsche Bank Park for fans with disabilities can be found at:
www.bundesliga-reisefuehrer.de
Tickets are available as E-Tickets and Print@Home (except standing tickets which will be posted out to you) and although you are entitled as a match ticket holder to travel free of charge to and from the stadium on public transport, an 'RMV KombiTicket' must be added separately to your order.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Stadium Address:
Mörfelder Landstraße 362
60528 Frankfurt am Main
BY CAR:
If travelling by car, follow either the A3 or A5 towards Frankfurt and then pick up the signs directing you to the stadium car parks. From the city centre, cross the Mainbrücken, take Kennedyallee to Oberforsthaus and then follow the signs to the arena. There are a number of car parks in the immediate vicinity of the stadium and information about them can be found here.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT:
Match ticket holders can use public transport on matchdays anywhere within the huge Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) transport area free of charge. Remember though that an 'RMV Combined Ticket' must be added to your order when buying your match ticket (See Buying Tickets).
From the Hauptbahnhof, S-Bahn lines S7, S8 and S9 (Direction: Mainz or Frankfurt Airport/Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof) take about 6 minutes to reach Stadion from where it's a 10-15 minute walk to the stadium. An additional tram service (line 21) also runs every three minutes from in front of the Hauptbahnhof to Stadion on matchdays. If you're coming straight from the airport head to Terminal 1, then Platform 1 and the first stop on both the S8 (Direction: Hanau) and S9 (Direction: Offenbach Ost) lines from here is Stadion.
The popularity of Eintracht in these parts means that from two hours prior to kick-off, trains passing through the centre of Frankfurt are jam-packed with people heading to the stadium. On our last visit in February, it took the best part of an hour, several failed attempts and some very un-British queue jumping to get on one. A little 'tactical boarding' may therefore be necessary, so consider catching a train further out towards Hanau or Offenbach before the train fills up as it passes through the city centre and towards Deutsche Bank Park.
Buses 61 and 80 shuttle between the airport and Frankfurt Sudbahnhof via Frankfurt Niederrad. The stops you need for the stadium are Stadionbad or Osttribüne and then it's a 10-15 minute walk to the ground.
WALKING DIRECTIONS:
You can reach the stadium from central Frankfurt on foot but it's at least three miles. Google Maps will be able to plan the route for you if you're feeling energetic and have the time.
BIKE DIRECTIONS: If you're using pedal power to get to the match, then there's secure storage (adults/children under 12; €3/€1.50; open 90 minutes before kick-off) for your bike at 'Bike Point' - just to the left of the ticket offices on Mörfelder Landstraße (see the map in our image gallery below). For a fee, the Bike Point team will even clean and repair your bike whilst you're off watching the match !
FAN SHOP, MUSEUM & STADIUM TOURS
FAN SHOP:
Fanshop Deutsche Bank Park is the main fan shop (Mörfelder Landstraße 362, 60528 Frankfurt; 10am-6pm, Mon-Fri; 10am-4pm, Sat). Entry on a matchday is restricted to those with a valid match ticket.
Additional fan shops can be found at:
Fanshop MyZeil (Zeil 106, 60313 Frankfurt;10am-8pm, Mon-Thu; 10am-9pm, Fri-Sat)
Fanshop Main Tanus Zentrum (Am Main-Tanus Zentrum, 65843 Sulzbach, 10am-8pm, Mon-Thu; 10am-10pm, Fri-Sat)
Fanshop am Riederwald (Alfred-Pfaff-Str. 1 60386 Frankfurt;10am-6pm, Mon-Fri; 10am-4pm, Sat)
Partner Fanshop FULDA (Heidelsteinstr. 17-19 36043 Fulda​; 7:45am-6pm, Mon-Fri; 9am-12pm, Sat)
Partner Fanshop WETZLAR (Am Rübenmorgen 6 35582 Wetzlar-Dutenhofen​; 10am-6pm, Mon-Fri; 10am-4pm, Sat)
Eintracht Frankfurt Outlet (Isenburg Center, Hermesstr. 4, 63263 Neu-Isenburg; 10am-8pm, Mon-Sat)
Ahead of the 2023-24 season, Eintracht opened the first ever 'Self Service Fan Shop' in the Bundesliga outside the stadium. It's open on matchdays only two hours before kick-off and for an hour after full-time; and information about how the 'grab n go' technology is all supposed to work can be found on the club website here.
MUSEUM:
The Eintracht Frankfurt Museum at Deutsche Bank Park covers 400 square metres and has over 300 exhibits telling the 120-year history of the club (adults/concessions €6/€4; open 10am-6pm, Tue-Sun; open two hours before kick-off on matchdays).
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STADIUM TOURS:
A number of different tours are conducted including one that includes a glass of sparkling wine for guests! Information about them all and how to book can be found here.
FOOD & DRINK OPTIONS
On the stadium concourses and around the ground you'll find the usual purveyors selling bratwurst, currywurst etc; and you can watch the action with a few pints of Krombacher or Äppelwoi. Payment for food and drink can made using cash and cashless methods (debit/credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay etc) and there's an ATM next to 'Stadion Tunnel 1' at the north-west corner of the stadium.
OTHER CLUBS IN THE AREA
BUNDESLIGA: 1.FSV Mainz 05
BUNDESLIGA 2: 1.FC Kaiserslautern, Karlsruher SC, SV Darmstadt 98, SV Elversberg
3.LIGA: 1. FC Saarbrücken, SV Sandhausen, SV Waldhof Mannheim, SV Wehen Wiesbaden
