Bundesliga Thread - 2021/22

[bluesmith]

Congratulations @Bembeltown - my little love affair with Die Adler started because of you and I’ve spent the last two years telling my mates what a fantastic club you are.

So pleased for you mate. Hope we get you in the group and we can finally have that beer together.

I hope we don't get them In the groups, It would mean Liverpool win the league on Sunday!

 

[exiled-blue]

Congratulations @Bembeltown - my little love affair with Die Adler started because of you and I’ve spent the last two years telling my mates what a fantastic club you are.

So pleased for you mate. Hope we get you in the group and we can finally have that beer together.

If we get them in the group stage it means we have lost the league at weekend. So you best hope we can't get them.

 

[Cellarite]

I hope we don't get them In the groups, It would mean Liverpool win the league on Sunday!

Oh fuck. Strike my last comment from the record. Last 16 then.

 

[Cellarite]

If we get them in the group stage it means we have lost the league at weekend. So you best hope we can't get them.

I’m suitably embarrassed.

 

[Bembeltown]

Good morning everyone and thank you for all your nice comments and specially to those of you who texted me last night from the blue side of Manchester.
@Cellarite: First text messages I got yesterday from @cptaidan88 and @Scaring Europe to Death where "See you in Manchester". :-)

Not the prettiest of games but nerve-wracking and I sit at work since 6 am after 2 hours of sleep. Going to be a long day with the team getting a reception at the City Hall later today.

Frankfurt already cancelled all weddings planned for today and the police issued a warning that you should only get to downtown Frankfurt if it's absolutely necessary as it will be packed.

Brace yourselves for me posting videos and other nonsense through the day...

 

[Bembeltown]

While I sit at work like a complete Zombie I had a chance to reflect on the past couple of years.

I think I posted this a couple of pages ago, but when I grew up Eintracht was a semi decent team. In 91/92 we actually should have won the league, but away in Rostock on the last day of the season the ref doesn't give a clear penalty and we proceed to lose to a horrible Rostock team. A trauma that still haunts many older fans, because winning the league might have set us up for brighter future.

Instead we declined rapidly and what followed were relegations, promotions, beeing on the verge of going bankrupt etc.

Whenever we did somewhat decent we had the tendency to fuck it up again. Prime sample was our last drop to Buli 2 when we managed to only get 8 points in the league after the winter break. This relegation was something we didn't see coming and was completely out of the blue...

The following season we got promoted again and managed to stay in. In 2016 we were on the verge of dropping to Buli2 again and we barely managed to beat Nürnberg in the play offs.

Weirdly enough ever since we have been doing pretty well for our standards. Going to 2 cup finals, winning one against Bayern in 2018. Reaching the EL semi finals with a great team and getting eliminated at Stamford Bridge in penalties (still convinced that we would have beaten that horrible Arsenal team in the finals).

And now it's 2022 and we won the EL for the first time since 1980. All that in a span of 6 years. Growing up as an Eintracht Fan made me come to peace with the fact that I will never see my club win a trophy and now this.

Winning the EL in the same year that club legend and captain of our last winning team Jürgen Grabowski has died will make most Frankfurt Fans shed a tear as we have been singing about Jürgen and the final of 1980 for years.

Only now it starts to kick in how special winning the EL really is. Bayer Leverkusen had a great team a couple years back and had the chance to win the league, the CL and the cup.

They lost all three decisive games and have never been to a final again.

For the "moody diva" (our nickname in Germany) to achieve this is blowing my mind. And I am pretty sure it's not just me unable to process this experience.

 

[Bembeltown]

The tifo was a reference to the moody diva as well.



Banner says "Holy Diva from river Main, please do it for us"

The details on the diva's mantle are actually the lyrics to a pretty popular song we sing (horrible translation effort incoming)

All that surrounded with white flags. Surely not one of our best tifos but pulling this off 2000+ kilometers away from home in a ground that we have never been to is something.

 

[Bembeltown]

Scenes from the public viewing...

 

[Cellarite]

While I sit at work like a complete Zombie I had a chance to reflect on the past couple of years.

I think I posted this a couple of pages ago, but when I grew up Eintracht was a semi decent team. In 91/92 we actually should have won the league, but away in Rostock on the last day of the season the ref doesn't give a clear penalty and we proceed to lose to a horrible Rostock team. A trauma that still haunts many older fans, because winning the league might have set us up for brighter future.

Instead we declined rapidly and what followed were relegations, promotions, beeing on the verge of going bankrupt etc.

Whenever we did somewhat decent we had the tendency to fuck it up again. Prime sample was our last drop to Buli 2 when we managed to only get 8 points in the league after the winter break. This relegation was something we didn't see coming and was completely out of the blue...

The following season we got promoted again and managed to stay in. In 2016 we were on the verge of dropping to Buli2 again and we barely managed to beat Nürnberg in the play offs.

Weirdly enough ever since we have been doing pretty well for our standards. Going to 2 cup finals, winning one against Bayern in 2018. Reaching the EL semi finals with a great team and getting eliminated at Stamford Bridge in penalties (still convinced that we would have beaten that horrible Arsenal team in the finals).

And now it's 2022 and we won the EL for the first time since 1980. All that in a span of 6 years. Growing up as an Eintracht Fan made me come to peace with the fact that I will never see my club win a trophy and now this.

Winning the EL in the same year that club legend and captain of our last winning team Jürgen Grabowski has died will make most Frankfurt Fans shed a tear as we have been singing about Jürgen and the final of 1980 for years.

Only now it starts to kick in how special winning the EL really is. Bayer Leverkusen had a great team a couple years back and had the chance to win the league, the CL and the cup.

They lost all three decisive games and have never been to a final again.

For the "moody diva" (our nickname in Germany) to achieve this is blowing my mind. And I am pretty sure it's not just me unable to process this experience.

Mate - it sounds very much like my growing up with City.

I started out in 1988 with a 1-3 home defeat by Shrewsbury Town. We got promoted 18 months later and had a decent spell in the top league, finishing 5th twice in '91 and '92. The FA Cup quarter final of '93 came and most blues thought it was our year to win it, especially when we went 1-0 up against Tottenham. At 1-4, our left back scored a worldy and it prompted a pitch invasion. I don't think the club recovered until we hit the depths of the third tier.

I too thought I was destined to never see us win a trophy. The fans stuck by the club like you lot did. It makes me mad when other fans and the media play on us not having a lot of fans these days because the same people lauded us in 1998/99 for breaking all kinds of attendance records two divisions down.

When me and Will emerged through the trees at the stadium in the forest, we were blown away. Here we were, on a random Saturday, at one of Europe's most amazing clubs. I knew you were a big club but had no idea of the passion and pride that your countless fans have for the club. It was one of my best days as a football fan and as a Dad.

I've followed your progress in the Europa League this season and the semi finals were great for me. I've always had a soft spot for West Ham and Rangers so only (fuck) RB Leipzig could spoil things for me.

I felt for West Ham in the semis and feel for Rangers now but am completely thrilled for you firstly, but also for the chap that gave me his hat at Frankfurt HBF, the young mother who sat next to me at the game, the man who let me hold his scarf for a photo, the Ultras who sat chatting about FIFA with Will on the train back to Koblenz and anyone else we came across that day.

 

[Magicpole]

One good thing for the Gers, they actually have a player now who could go for £20m. Bassey was your best player by far. A great signing and will be on the radar with clubs that £20m is fuck all. Thought the boy was brilliant. Wish we had him.