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Alex Ferguson becomes a lifelong member of Eintracht Frankfurt. There are plenty of points of contact – and were the reason for a personal conversation with the legendary trainer and manager.
Anyone who was present at the Pittodrie Stadium in December on behalf of Eintracht when Frankfurt played their last Europa Conference League group game at Aberdeen FC got a rough idea of the legendary status of Alex Ferguson, whom Queen Elizabeth introduced in July 1999 when he was manager of Manchester United appointed Sir. As at Old Trafford, there is a statue in honor of Ferguson in Aberdeen. After all, the now 82-year-old earned his first credits with the Dons with three championships, four cup victories, the League Cup victory and, last but not least, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Super Cup victories in 1983.
A few weeks after the Hessians’ guest appearance on the island, a small media delegation from the SGE flew to Great Britain to meet the Sir in person – and to offer him lifelong Eintracht membership. Ferguson was pleased and took the guests from the heart of Europe on a little journey through time, which, among other things, was dedicated to points of contact with Eintracht.
Sir Alex Ferguson, in an interview some time ago you said, that back in 1960, when Eintracht Frankfurt beat the Rangers in the European Cup twice, you were present at the game.
It was unbelievable. In the away game, Frankfurt beat the rangers six to one. I was at the home game, when they came to Ibrox, with 70.000 people in attendance. Rangers scored first and of course you then get hopeful, saying that Rangers could come back. They ended up losing by six again. I was a Rangers fan, living only some 200 meters away from Ibrox. I went to the final in 1960 as well, hoping that Frankfurt would win, since they knocked out Rangers. I was 17 years old at the time, playing for FC Queens Park. It was an amazing game. Kreß scored the first goal. We said: “Wow! A great German team.” But then there was Puskás, Di Stefano, Gento. I don’t think there will ever be another team as charismatic as that Real Madrid team at the time. Puskás scored four goals and Stefano scored three. They were fantastic players. And the 7:3 was an amazing game. It was no disgrace to lose that game. They proved themselves in the semi-final against Rangers. It was unfortunate because it was the fifth final in a row that Real Madrid won.
Are there some Eintracht Frankfurt players that you remember?
Kreß and Stein, obviously. They were the two stars and Kreß was a really good player. Hans-Walter Eigenbrodt is also a name I remember from that team.
How did you perceive Eintracht Frankfurt in those times? Did you follow them a little?
Not necessarily. At that age, I was 17 when they played the final, I was only playing football part-time. I had an apprenticeship as an engineer and had to complete that, otherwise my father wouldn’t let me play football full-time. I did an apprenticeship as an engineer before I went anywhere. But when I got to have a career as a football player, my main interest was to never have to go back to engineering. As I was in my 20s, I started to take all my coaching badges and at that point my football interest became global. At one point, we had a famous German coach who visited our coaching school, Karl-Heinz Heddergot, and he was a big inspiration. Then came the world cup of 1966, as I was in my last year of coaching badges. As part of a unit at the school, we were given games to see at the world cup. I was given Bulgaria and Hungary. Hungary had one of the best teams at that time and I really thought they could win it, but they got knocked out in the quarterfinals. That time really sparked my interest in analyzing teams. Of course, the final was fantastic. When I was a player, we played Cologne with Rangers. I remember talking to some German players afterward and since it was not long after the final of 66, I remember discussing whether the Ball was over the line or not. For us Scottish people, it was clear that the ball did not cross the line, the linesman had to be blind (laughs).
You played with the Rangers in 1967 and faced Eintracht Frankfurt, is that right?
It was my first game for the Rangers. We won 5:3, but I wouldn’t call it a revenge for 1960. I remember scoring a hattrick with Tilkowski in goal for Frankfurt. Grabowksi played as well. He was only 22 at the time and went on to play until ´79, amazing. He also played in the 1974 world cup, and I still remember his cross for the Müller goal against Italy in 1970.
When you were a coach with Aberdeen in 1979/1980 Eintracht Frankfurt won the UEFA Cup. Earlier in the tournament, they had a 1:1 draw against Aberdeen.<7b>
That’s right. I had just joined Aberdeen for my first season in the European Cup as a coach. (NB – he had been at Aberdeen for 2 seasons and had played in the European Cup Winners’ Cup the previous season as well.) Frankfurt was the better team, but we rescued the game with an equalizer. We had the chance to travel to Frankfurt, where we lost 1:0. Bernd Hölzenbein scored the goal in the second match to knock us out. It was a great lesson for me to go abroad. Some players went out clubbing after the game. Afterward, I made sure that such a thing never happened again.
You never played against Eintracht Frankfurt with Manchester United. Did you still get any impressions of our club during that time?
Frankfurt’s most successful time was during my career at Aberdeen in the 70s and 80s, when they won the UEFA Cup in 1980. Recently, they beat Barcelona, right? I saw that. I always hope to see the underdog win. Bayern fans may not agree with that, but like all the neutral fans in Germany, I really hope to see someone else win the league again.
Have you followed the UEFA Europa League finale between Eintracht Frankfurt and the Glasgow Rangers?
Of course, I have. I watched the game. It was quite even. I found it interesting to see that both teams brought so many fans to Sevilla, that they had to open another stadium in the city for extra fans to go in. That was fantastic to have a final like that.
What about your relation to the Rhine-Main territory? We heard you are a good friend of Eckhard Krautzun.
Yes! Eckhard and I have been friends since 1973. We were at coaching school together as roommates. In the last week of school, Scotland were playing Brazil, and he told me he would love to see that game. So, I invited him to stay with me. He ended up staying for a week and my wife was starting to ask when he was leaving. (laughs) We’ve been very good friends for a long time, and he still visits a lot. He is football mad. Just recently I got him tickets for the Eintracht Frankfurt game in Aberdeen. I also had regular phone contact with Günter Bachmann. Both as an agent and as our pre-season tour manager in Germany at my time with Aberdeen. I remember playing Kickers Offenbach, Mainz, and many other games in that region.
Sir Alex, last question: 14th of June, Euro 2024, Germany against Scotland. Do you believe that Germany has an underdog chance to beat Scotland?
No chance (laughs). I’m going to see that game live. I must see it. Scotland are not that bad, you know. They have good midfielders, two good fullbacks. Only the striker position has been difficult in the last few years. The Scottish fans are going to be fantastic. I will always remember the world cup in Italy, 1990. I’m going to a Scotland game during the group stages, and I see a big bus from Glasgow. They took the top off the bus and were having a barbecue on the top off the Double-decker. And there is no way that I reach the stadium without going by the bus. Of course, they see me and shout: “Alex. Come on up, we’ve got a barbecue ready!” (laughs) The Scottish fans are fantastic. The great thing about them and the Scottish life is the kilt. Every town in Scotland has its own, and so does every football club. Everybody wears them. I won’t be wearing it at the Euros, but I’m looking forward to it.
