Soul of the Diva E-Book

Robert Busch

• Herausgeber: tredition
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 184

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

With more than 100.000 members and millions following on social media, Eintracht Frankfurt became one of the biggest football clubs in Europe. But the moody diva, as our fans call her, is different from other clubs—some say that she is more than just a club. This is the story of a football club that defied the idea of modern football and demonstrated how to win titles without losing tradition. Everyone who loves football saw images of our fans taking over the Camp Nou in Barcelona and the pitch invasion after winning the semifinal against West Ham United. Many asked themselves, "Why does Eintracht Frankfurt have such a massive fan base?" The goal of this book is not to turn everyone into a supporter of Eintracht Frankfurt; it's the opposite. I want to give hope to every fan of a club that is struggling. I want to inspire kids to support their local team instead of picking one of the top brands. I want to remind every football fan worldwide that this could happen to your club. The moody diva is for everyone who believes football is more than just a business. Our journey toward winning the Europa League in 2022 started long before our current players signed their contracts. I am talking about the people who saw us play in the second division. I am thinking about those who supported us without expecting to win anything anytime soon. The story of our success can't be told without mentioning the ones who kept the club alive during our darkest days. Players, coaches, and managers come and go, but at the core of Eintracht Frankfurt, there is something that made all of this possible. It's the only thing that is not subject to change. It's the base of everything that happened in 2022. It's something bigger than the club itself. It's something that money can't buy. I am talking about the fans of Eintracht Frankfurt: "The Soul of the Diva."

Leseprobe

Soul of the Diva

Soul of the Diva

How Eintracht Frankfurt taught a City what Unconditional Love actually Means.

Robert Busch

© 2022 Robert Busch

Buchsatz von tredition, erstellt mit dem tredition Designer

ISBN Softcover: 978-3-347-70415-2

ISBN Hardcover: 978-3-347-70416-9

ISBN E-Book: 978-3-347-70417-6

ISBN Großschrift: 978-3-347-70418-3

Druck und Distribution im Auftrag des Autors:

tredition GmbH, Halenreie 40-44, 22359 Hamburg, Germany

Das Werk, einschließlich seiner Teile, ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Für die Inhalte ist der Autor verantwortlich. Jede Verwertung ist ohne seine Zustimmung unzulässig. Die Publikation und Verbreitung erfolgen im Auftrag des Autors, zu erreichen unter: tredition GmbH, Abteilung "Impressumservice", Halenreie 40-44, 22359 Hamburg, Deutschland.

Introduction

With more than 100.000 members and millions following on social media, Eintracht Frankfurt became one of the biggest football clubs in Europe. But the moody diva, as our fans call her, is different from other clubs—some say that she is more than just a club.

This is the story of a football club that defied the idea of modern football and demonstrated how to win titles without losing tradition. Everyone who loves football saw images of our fans taking over the Camp Nou in Barcelona and the pitch invasion after winning the semifinal against West Ham United. Many asked themselves, “Why does Eintracht Frankfurt have such a massive fan base”

When I traveled the world, I often saw kids wearing jerseys of clubs like Barcelona, Chelsea, or Bayern Munich. These are clubs that became international brands within the last decades. We are not one of these clubs. Eintracht Frankfurt is different. And I don’t want Eintracht Frankfurt to become one of these clubs. Eintracht Frankfurt is the antidote to modern football, and that’s what makes her so unique.

The goal of this book is not to turn everyone into a supporter of Eintracht Frankfurt; it’s the opposite. I want to give hope to every fan of a club that is struggling. I want to inspire kids to support their local team instead of picking one of the top brands. I want to remind every football fan worldwide that this could happen to your club.

Our President Peter Fischer set the goal to become one of the ten most famous clubs in the world within the next decade. This is my contribution toward this goal. The club or sponsors do not pay me to do this. My goal is to share the inspiring story of a community that never gave up in the most authentic way possible.

It’s an inspiration for every football fan to support their team in difficult times. It’s a reminder that there are things in life that money can’t buy and encouragement for every football club to prioritize community over short-term profits. It’s a declaration of love from the bottom of my heart.

The moody diva is for everyone who believes football is more than just a business. Our journey toward winning the Europa League in 2022 started long before our current players signed their contracts. I am talking about the people who saw us play in the second division. I am thinking about those who supported us without expecting to win anything anytime soon. The story of our success can’t be told without mentioning the ones who kept the club alive during our darkest days.

Players, coaches, and managers come and go, but at the core of Eintracht Frankfurt, there is something that made all of this possible. It’s the only thing that is not subject to change. It’s the base of everything that happened in 2022. It’s something bigger than the club itself. It’s something that money can’t buy.

I am talking about the fans of Eintracht Frankfurt: “The Soul of the Diva.”

Wednesday, 18th of May 2022.

Rafael Santos Borré takes aim. We are one penalty away from winning the Europa League. I am at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt. 50.000 people hold their breath. Time stands still. The referee blows the whistle, Rafa shoots…and he scores.

This is the happiest moment of our lives. Is this really happening? Collective ecstasy sets in. I am blown away. My heart is jumping, and tears are rolling. A few moments later, we sing “Im Herzen von Europa.” This is unreal. Eintracht Frankfurt just won the Europa League.

“Europas beste Mannschaft” — yes, we are the best team in the Europa League. This is not a song anymore; this is our reality. We have been singing about winning the “UEFA Cup” for years. Kids are taking selfies, old men are crying, and a few fans might have discovered their passion for our club that night. I am thinking of my friends who made it to Sevilla. But my thoughts are also with friends who were forced to watch it in quarantine.

First messages from friends abroad are flashing up on my phone. Friends from Canada, Argentina, and England are congratulating. This is a worldwide thing. Everyone is talking about the saga of Eintracht Frankfurt. Why are their fans so passionate? How did they win a European title with such a low budget?

I have been supporting Eintracht Frankfurt since I was a boy. My first visit to the old Waldstadion was against Bayern München in 1995. The 4th of November 1995 was my first time at this magic place we call Waldstadion. The stadium was rebuilt and rebranded in the early 2000s, but we will always call it the Waldstadion.

A lot has happened between that day in November 1995 and today. The most beautiful rollercoaster ride of my life. Friends who are not that much into football asked me, “It’s just a game. Why are you crying?” Some folks laugh because fans talk about how “we” won the cup. After all, Kevin Trapp saved the penalty, not me. Rafael Borre scored the equalizer and the deciding penalty, not the drunken stranger I am hugging on the streets of Frankfurt. Oliver Glasner coached the team, not the barkeeper who decorated his pub with flags and scarfs.

That’s one perspective. A sports team won a title, and the fans celebrated. But that’s not what happened in Frankfurt. This is different. Clubs backed by wealthy donors often dominate modern football. Often these donors are more than questionable. Almost every club treats its fans as if they were clients. But not in Frankfurt.

We are not the clients of Frankfurt. We are not fans of Eintracht.

We are Eintracht Frankfurt.

This book is written out of love for you.

Or as we say in German, “Aus der Liebe zu Dir.”

First Experiences.

I fell in love with Eintracht Frankfurt when I was a little boy. The moody diva took my heart, and I don’t want it back anytime soon. Either she is on top of the world or about to fall apart. And there is not much we can do about it besides showing our unconditional love for this bipolar lady. Supporting Eintracht Frankfurt wasn’t always fun, but there are no passionate love affairs without any hardships along the way— maybe that’s exactly what makes them so special.

The first time I met the moody diva in person was in 1995. She wasn’t in good shape at that time. Some said that her best days were gone. I heard about the heartbreak of Rostock, where she almost won the German Bundesliga title in 1992. I was shocked when she fired her best players Anthony Yeboah, Jay-Jay Okocha, and Uwe Bein. And before even entering the Waldstadion for the first time, I was told that she was on the brink of falling apart.

If Eintracht Frankfurt was a person, she was lost in 1995. The drama that was ahead of her was already in the air. When I went to the stadium that day, I expected nothing but a devastating loss against Bayern Munich. But not that day. The diva was on fire. Matthias Hagner scored the first goal for Frankfurt in the sixth minute. It was the first time I felt this energy at the Waldstadion. It was life-changing. It was the first time I experienced this collective ecstasy. The moment she scores, thousands of humans share one feeling: joy. This joy has no limitations. It’s inclusive. It was the antidote to everything I knew at that age.

Frankfurt is a city that struggles with a vast wealth gap and crime. Everyone who ever arrived at our central station (Hauptbahnhof) knows what I am talking about. The mix of wealthy business people, students, and folks trying to survive from all over the world is not for the faint-hearted. But there is another side many visitors don’t get to see. Underneath the rough surface, there is a passion that connects almost all of us. Eintracht Frankfurt is one of the few things almost everyone in this city can agree on. The moment she scores, we are all feeling the same feelings.

Eintracht Frankfurt is the glue that keeps this city together.

And that’s what I experienced for the first time in November 1995. The game ended with a 4:1 victory for Frankfurt. I was in love for the first time.

But I was lucky. The game against Bayern Munich was one of the very few highlights of that season. A few months later, Frankfurt didn’t manage to stay in the Bundesliga. Frankfurt was relegated to the second division as one of the last remaining teams that had always been part of the Bundesliga. Needless to say that this was a punch in the face for one of the biggest fan scenes in Germany. But it was also the result of a steady decline throughout the 90s. Frankfurt almost won the German Bundesliga in 1992. I don’t remember that day because I was too young, but I cannot count how often I heard this story. It was the most dramatic moment in the club’s history up to that year. At that time, nobody knew things were supposed to get far worse than that for decades.

So what happened in Rostock on May 16th, 1992?

It was the last match day of the Bundesliga season. Frankfurt had to win against Rostock for the title. But Frankfurt was struggling. 1:1 after 75 minutes. Ralf Weber is on his way to scoring the deciding goal and gets fouled. Referee Alfons Berg immediately decides to become the most hated person in Frankfurt of all time. No penalty. At that time, there was no VAR. The decision was made. Alfons Berg destroyed our dream. Minutes later, Rostock scores the 2:1, and history was made. Painful history.

Maybe it was the breaking point for the team around legends like Anthony Yeboah, Uwe Bein, Manfred Binz, Maurizio Gaudino, and Jay Jay Okocha? Was this the end of the socalled “Fussball 2000?”

As a 10-year-old, I had to watch Jupp Heynckes suspend my favorite players. Eintracht Frankfurt hired Heynckes, intending to win a title finally. Probably one of the worst decisions in the club’s history.

Frankfurt was known as the moody diva and the players of that time perfectly represented the spirit of our club. Anthony Yeboah was slightly overweight but scored one goal after the other. Jay-Jay Okocha wasn’t the most disciplined player but was famous for his technical skills and moments of magic. And Maurizio Gaudino…well, let’s say he was quite a character and leave it there.

Frankfurt’s “Fussball 2000" was the last generation of professional football players who acted extremely unprofessional off the pitch. Jupp Heynckes was supposed to bring more discipline into a club that was longing for a big title. But guess what happens when someone tries to tame a moody diva? Jupp Heynckes became one of the most successful coaches ever after his time in Frankfurt. His attempts to domesticate the moody diva ended after just one disappointing season. But within one season, Heynckes ruined everything. Anthony Yeboah left the club, and that was just the beginning. Several other players realized that Eintracht Frankfurt was already in decline and left. The downfall continued, and as a result, the club started to struggle financially.

As mentioned, I was way too young to understand all the details. All I saw was my team falling apart. I remember that one man destroyed the idea of “Fussball 2000” and replaced it with a “No pain, no gain” mentality that became increasingly popular in modern football. And I have to admit that Heynckes wasn’t entirely wrong with his assessment that modern football requires a certain fitness level. He won almost every title as a coach, and modern football shifted toward his idea of the game. Players like Yeboah, Gaudino, and Okocha became a distant memory of a time when football was more about individual class than discipline. Yeboah was one of the last strikers who were allowed to be slightly overweight as long as they scored enough goals. Gaudino and others were the last players allowed to be up all night in between games. It was a different time.

Heynckes ended all of that. Eintracht Frankfurt tried to get rid of the moody diva vibes and be more serious. When Heynckes left the club, he noted that his approach didn’t fit Eintracht Frankfurt. But it was more profound than that. The saga of the Heynckes season 94/95 brought up a bigger question:

“Does Eintracht Frankfurt, known as the moody diva, fit modern football?”

We got our answer the following season. On May 18th, 1996, Eintracht Frankfurt lost 4:1 against Hamburg and got relegated to the second division.

*Watch on YouTube:

Spielbericht Hansa Rostock - Eintracht Frankfurt Saison 1991/1992 (Lothar Sipper Official)

TBT 4:1 Sieg gegen den FC Bayern (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Die Eintracht im Skandaljahr 1996 (nbbs)

The End of Fussball 2000.

The tragic events of Rostock and the drama with Heynckes were just the early signs of a steady decline. At the end of the 90s, Eintracht Frankfurt was the laughing stock of German football. The city of Frankfurt already had a reputation based on greedy managers, excessive nightlife, and lack of order. Eintracht Frankfurt perfectly matched these expectations. All attempts to get things in order only made things worse.

My parents never liked football. They were worried about reports of violence, right-wing extremism amongst fans, and drug abuse. Football had a terrible reputation at that time— and Frankfurt’s fans were part of that problem during the 80s and early 90s. As a result of these concerns, I wasn’t allowed to go to the stadium as a young teenager. Supporting Eintracht Frankfurt felt somehow rebellious in that context. Whenever Frankfurt lost a game, my dad would make fun of me. His best friend happened to be a fan of Kickers Offenbach. He told me, “Why do you support these losers? They are broke and will never make it back to the Bundesliga. It’s what happened to Kickers Offenbach, and Frankfurt is next.” Looking at Eintracht Frankfurt then didn’t offer any good reasons to believe that Uncle Günther was wrong. But I was too proud and stubborn to give up. I had already committed to being a fan of Eintracht Frankfurt. I was in love with the moody diva.

After two seasons in the second division (96-98) and a massive shift in fan culture (97), Frankfurt made it back to the Bundesliga in 1998. Unfortunately, it only lasted for another three disappointing seasons before ending up back in the second division in 2001.

My personal life also took a dramatic turn in 2001. My father died. As I was looking for a distraction from this lifechanging trauma, I went to almost every game that season. It was easy to get tickets, as many fans turned their backs on Eintracht Frankfurt. But after losing my father, these games were the highlights of my week. And to be clear, none of these second division games were actual highlights. It was about friendship, a sense of community, and shared suffering.

My personal suffering at that time perfectly matched the vibe at home games. I was angry about my dad's passing, and everyone else around me was angry about the decline of Eintracht Frankfurt. We were angry, but nobody was left behind. After our first season of going to almost every game, we got our first season tickets in 2002/2003. At that time, I was playing in a punk band. One of our songs was about our “hate” toward Kickers Offenbach. The song was called “Scheiß OFC.” We got invited to play at the fifth anniversary of the “Ultras Frankfurt” in 2002. I don’t remember all the details, but long story short, we got our first season tickets at the well-known Block 40 A-R—and we were incredibly proud of that.

It felt like a privilege to be part of this fan culture. The Ultras Frankfurt 1997 were the core of the remaining fan scene in Frankfurt. I was fascinated by this fan culture but also noticed that people outside the stadium often perceived Ultra culture as a part of hooliganism, which is simply not true. The main difference between supporting Eintracht Frankfurt as an Ultra or as an average fan was the willingness to support the team no matter what happens on the pitch. Our support was based on the unconditional love for Eintracht Frankfurt, not the actual results. We would never leave the stadium before the game was over. We always supported the team at the top of our lungs. And that part wasn’t always easy.

At that time, the stadium in Frankfurt was rebuilt. We found ourselves in an unfinished stadium with less than 10.000 fans attending games against teams like Erzgebirge Aue. But our block supported the team as if we were playing against FC Barcelona in a sold-out stadium. We met up hours before the game to get into the right mood to support the team. I remember our conversations at that time. We were dreaming about a glorious future for Eintracht Frankfurt. After every game we won in the second division, someone would lay out a timeline on how to become the best team in Europe.

“Imagine we make it back to the Bundesliga. We just need to play one good season and qualify for the UEFA Cup. Then we win the UEFA cup and qualify for the Champions League.” And then someone else would add, “Exactly! And then we play against Barcelona at the Waldstadion.”

Shortly after that, another friend would say something like, “Ah, Barcelona, they don’t have real fans. I can’t wait for the day when we play against West Ham United or a Scottish team.”

We were so far away from that then, but diving into these fantasies was fun. Our reality at that time was slightly different. Eintracht Frankfurt almost had to file for bankruptcy in 2002. After returning to the Bundesliga in 2003, we immediately got relegated back to the second division. Fears of bankruptcy returned. But Frankfurt made it right back to the Bundesliga in 2005.

The years between 1995 and 2005 were the low point in the history of Eintracht Frankfurt. But these years were also the time when I discovered my love for the moody diva. Up to this day, I feel that these years of suffering were necessary as a base for everything that happened after that. The club was on the ground and had to reinvent itself. Peter Fischer became President of the club in 2000, Heribert Bruchhagen became the manager in 2003, and the Ultras Frankfurt 1997 started to establish themselves as one of the most respected Ultras groups in Europe.

“Fussball 2000” with Yeboah, Okocha, and Bein was only a distant memory. But the club's downfall also created the space for a fresh start. At that time, nobody had an idea of what would happen in the next 20 years.

*Watch on YouTube:

• TBTAufstiegsfeier 1997/1998 (Eintracht Frankfurt)

• Eintracht Frankfurt gegen SV Babelsberg (War Tes)

Difficult Times.

After facing bankruptcy in 2002, our love for Eintracht Frankfurt got tested again in 2003/2004. The team returned to the Bundesliga and got to play against Kickers Offenbach in the first round of the German Cup. Back in the Bundesliga and the first official game against Kickers Offenbach in 18 years. We were more than excited.

The game in Offenbach was a highlight as a fan. But winning against Offenbach (4th division at that time) after penalties already gave us an idea of how “strong” our team was that season. It was an emotional game, and we were excited to witness a penalty kick. Winning against this amateur team in the first round of the German Cup led us to dream about winning the cup and qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Everyone knew that chances of making the Top 5 in the Bundesliga were pretty low, but the German Cup seemed to be a realistic way to qualify—we “just” need to make it to the final.

But that didn’t happen—yet. Instead, we got to witness another low point. The second round of the German Cup against Duisburg at home. It was a rainy day in October. Only 10.500 fans showed up to support our team on a Wednesday night. Frankfurt scored after four minutes, and we were already thinking about making it to the Cup final in Berlin. But it was a lousy game. The rain got more intense before halftime, and Duisburg managed to stumble the ball into our goal. We were shocked.

But it got worse. The game went into extra time. Maybe we get to see another penalty kick? As we mentally prepared ourselves for another penalty kick, Duisburg scored the deciding goal in the 110th minute. The dream of making it to the Cup final was over. I remember our walk back home after the game. Nobody said a word. It was still raining, and we were angry and disappointed. We just lost against a second-division team in front of 10.500 fans. “At least we can focus on the Bundesliga after that,” was our attempt to put things into a better perspective. Well, that didn’t work out. We finished last place after the first half of the season.