Fans party, marriage couples have to wait as Frankfurt aims at Euro League title-Xinhua

Fans party, marriage couples have to wait as Frankfurt aims at Euro League title

Source: Xinhua| 2022-05-17 19:37:18|Editor: huaxia

by Oliver Trust

BERLIN, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Boundless enthusiasm has taken hold of Eintracht Frankfurt and its supporters as gigantic parties are prepared ahead of the Euro League final on Thursday evening in Sevilla against the Glasgow Rangers.

50,000 tickets for public viewing in Frankfurt's arena were sold out within minutes. Dozens of bands are said to entertain the supporters of the "Bestia Blanca," and hotel-room prizes in Frankfurt shot up drastically as even some of the small ones ended up at 1,000 euros per night.

Preparations around Frankfurt's most famous square, the Romer-place, are in progress as possible victory celebrations are said to take place on the town hall's big balcony in front of hundreds of thousands of fans.

The city's administration was busy over the past days, shifting wedding appointments for couples in the registry office on May 19, the day after the club's great final.

The club's full-back Ansgar Knauff promised that the team is going to make up for the muddle and think about presents such as team shirts for the ones, who have to postpone their marriage due to football.

Frankfurt's police prepare for a motorcade and a foot parade of fans through the city's streets on Thursday. Private houses and public buildings are decorated with the team's flags.

Meanwhile, head coach Oliver Glasner is facing the challenge to get his team focused on sportive issues. After gaining up to 25 million euros in this season's Euro League campaign, the side is said to be determined to secure the club's first international title since 1980.

Forty-two years ago, Frankfurt won the UEFA Cup, the equivalent of today's Euro League.

This time a victory would secure further financial gain as over four million euros are waiting for the winner aside from the qualification for next season's Champions League campaign coming along with an appearance fee of over 15 million euros.

The wave of enthusiasm isn't affecting the team's concentration, on-loan player Knauff (Dortmund) said as the squad is counting on a traditional robust team spirit.

The team and the club board proudly talk of having improved the Euro League's reputation in Germany. "Our performance is affecting German clubs' view on that competition, we have created sparkling eyes in the club's headquarters," CEO Axel Hellmann said.

Coach Glasner is demanding to focus on the team's advantages such as robustness and determination. "We need to be robust in our actions and set up a fast and effective game," Glasner added.

Fast forwards and intruding in spaces might be the key to turning things in favor of Frankfurt as sporting director Markus Krosche put it.

Having eliminated playful teams such as Barcelona and solid sides such as West Ham is causing confidence "but we know whom we are facing. Glasgow made its way in an impressing manner," Krosche said.

Midfielder Sebastian Rode said the team intends to kick the can down the road and finish the thing other than in 2019 when Eintracht got narrowly beaten in the semis by Chelsea on penalties.

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