Markus Krosche might have taken things easier than the rest of Eintracht Frankfurt’s squad and coaching staff. The 41-year-old sporting director is assumedly facing the biggest challenge of all after the club won the 2022 Europa League against Rangers.
Players, coaches, officials and fans hardly got any sleep as celebrations continued until the morning followed by further parties back in Frankfurt. Over 100,000 fans welcomed their heroes in the city centre despite stormy weather and heavy rain. In convertible cars, the winners took hours to make their way from Frankfurt airport to the famous Romerplatz.
Krosche, meanwhile, kept an eye on the charger for his mobile to stay in touch with possible new arrivals and their agents, Xinhua reports.
Coming along with the success achieved in Seville is the need to prepare the team for an energy-sapping 2022-23 season, as Frankfurt not only won a European trophy but also qualified for the upcoming Champions League campaign.
Gaining over 15 million euros of appearance payments opens the doors for new adventures with new players.
While Frankfurt found its place in the books of international football, the team struggled in the Bundesliga, ending up 11th, scoring only 45 goals.
Frankfurt fully turned its attention to the Europa League and triggered new enthusiasm for the competition in Germany.
UEFA improved the value of the competition in 2014 by adding a Champions League ticket for the winner.
Eintracht turned into a role model for so-called established clubs counting on a noticeable amount of history. Like many others, the club has to follow the strict ’50 plus one’ rule of German football which prevents foreign investors from taking a majority stake in the club.
Shopping centres closed to allow their employees to cheer the team. Bakeries and butchers opened around noon. Several companies gave out two free days and schools started late to allow the students to stay up late and watch the game in front of their TV sets.
Having narrowly missed the 2019 final after a disappointing penalty shootout in the semifinals against Chelsea, Frankfurt this time managed to kick the can down the road.
UEFA is said to consider further improvements regarding the Europa League, such as a wildcard for the beaten finalists, and choosing bigger stadiums for the final. Both Frankfurt and Rangers met their borders, having to select 10,000 fans each to receive a ticket in Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in Seville that held only 44,000 in total.
42 years after the club’s last continental title, Frankfurt have made an important step in improving their reputation by delivering a passionate campaign, in addition to improving the standing of the Europa League in Germany.
(Inputs from IANS)