Rangers asked who Eintracht Frankfurt were, then lost 12–4
Before the 1960 European Cup semi-final, Rangers manager Scot Symon reportedly asked, Eintracht, who are they? He soon found out. The German champions won 6–1 at home and scored six more at Ibrox for a 12–4 aggregate, and the Rangers players formed a guard of honour as their visitors left the pitch.
That run ended in the final at Hampden Park, where Eintracht took an early lead and then lost 7–3 to Real Madrid in a game often ranked among the finest ever played, in which Ferenc Puskás scored four times and Alfredo Di Stéfano three. Eintracht had reached Europe by winning their only German championship in 1959, beating local rivals Kickers Offenbach 5–3 after extra time before 75,000 fans in Berlin.
The club traces back to two Frankfurt teams founded in 1899, Victoria and Kickers, which merged in 1911. In 1920 the footballers joined a gymnastics club dating from 1861, taking the name Eintracht, German for harmony and roughly the equivalent of United. Pressure from the nationalistic gymnastics authorities split footballers and gymnasts apart again in 1927. The team has played at the Waldstadion since 1925.
Eintracht were among the 16 founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963 and finished third in its first season, still their best league placing. Their golden spell ran from 1973 to 1981, bringing three German cups and the UEFA Cup with players such as Bernd Hölzenbein and Jürgen Grabowski, both 1974 World Cup winners. The first of those cup finals was pushed back to August 1974 because of the tournament. Defender Charly Körbel, who never played for another club, holds the Bundesliga appearance record at 602.
Today the club counts 155,000 members, and with almost 14,000 active athletes in more than 50 sports it is the world's largest multi-sports club that also fields a professional football team. It has won the Europa League twice.
Source: Eintracht Frankfurt
