1988 DFB-Pokal Final vs VfB Stuttgart

Lore & Background

The club's origins go back to a pair of football clubs founded in 1899: Frankfurter Fußball-Club Victoria von 1899 and Frankfurter Fußball-Club Kickers von 1899. These two teams merged in May 1911 to become Frankfurter Fußball Verein (Kickers-Victoria). In turn, Frankfurter FV joined the gymnastics club Frankfurter Turngemeinde von 1861 to form TuS Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861 in 1920. The German word Eintracht means 'harmony' or 'concord'. Under pressure from gymnastics authorities, the gymnasts and footballers separated in 1927, as Turngemeinde Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861 and Sportgemeinde Eintracht Frankfurt (FFV) von 1899. Eintracht won local and regional championships through the late 1920s and 1930s, and reached the German championship final in 1932, losing 2–0 to Bayern Munich. After World War II, they joined the Oberliga Süd, winning the first Hessenpokal in 1946 and the Oberliga Süd title in 1953. In the 1958–59 season, under coach Paul Oßwald, Eintracht won the Oberliga again and became German champions for the first and only time, beating rivals Kickers Offenbach 5–3 after extra time in the final. As champions, they reached the 1959–60 European Cup final, losing 7–3 to Real Madrid. Eintracht was one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963 and has spent 57 seasons in the top division. They have won the DFB-Pokal five times and the UEFA Europa League twice.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the Olympiastadion Berlin was thick with anticipation as the second half wound down. Red and white scarves waved desperately from the stands, but the scoreboard remained stubbornly against them. The final whistle blew, echoing off the concrete arches, sealing a 0-2 result. Players in red and white slumped on the grass, heads bowed, while across the pitch, Stuttgart players embraced their first trophy. It was a quiet moment of reflection for the Eintracht faithful, knowing that despite the loss, they had fought with pride.

Reader's Guide

Eintracht Frankfurt's home stadium since 1925 has been the Waldstadion, currently named Deutsche Bank Park for sponsorship reasons. The club has 155,000 members, making it the fourth largest club playing in German football. With almost 14,000 active athletes in over 50 sports in 2024, Eintracht Frankfurt is the largest multi-sports club in the world with a professional football team. The player with the highest number of appearances in the Bundesliga (602), Charly Körbel, spent his entire senior career as a defender for Eintracht Frankfurt. The club's primary rival is local club Kickers Offenbach, though the two have only played two league matches within the last 40 years.

Did You Know?

• Eintracht Frankfurt have either won or drawn more than three-quarters of their games and have finished the majority of their seasons in the top half of the table.
• As of the end of the 2023-24 season, Werder Bremen hold the record for the most losses in Bundesliga history.
• The club's average attendance in the 2025-26 season is not yet known, but they consistently rank among the best-supported teams in Germany.
• Eintracht Frankfurt is one of Germany's largest sports clubs, with a wide range of sports beyond football, though the claim of being the largest multi-sports club in the world is not widely established.