Eintracht Frankfurt head Oliver Glasner says his team showed what sets them apart from the rest in this season’s Europa League final after overcoming Rangers in the final on Wednesday.
Frankfurt edged Rangers 5-4 on penalties after 120 minutes of football ended 1-1.
After a goalless first half, Super Eagles midfielder Joe Aribo gave Rangers the lead before Rafael Borre equalized for the Bundesliga outfit.
And in the shootout, former Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey missed his kick while Frankfurt converted all their five kicks.
Frankfurt became the first German club since Schalke in 1997 to win the Europa League.
And reflecting on the win Glasner said on Frankfurt website: “I’m proud of the players. We showed what it is that sets us apart from the rest in the Europa League. It was exactly the kind of match that we were expecting. Rangers were tough to handle, physically strong and played a lot of long balls. In the first half, we didn’t have the cutting edge in the penalty area and lacked the intensity we needed to run into space on a consistent basis. We took our penalties well. We hadn’t specifically practised that in training. The year got off to a tough start for all of us, but the players always believed in themselves and in us and were always fully committed, and that proves the kind of character and mentality that they have. The team spirit really developed. Everyone was always positive, even those who missed out on making it into the squad – they never stopped supporting the team. You need everyone to win a match like this one.”
For Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp, he described the win as indescribable.
“There are no words to describe this. We’ve won Eintracht’s first European trophy in 42 years… This is the best moment of my career. There’s so much pride – we’ve made a whole lot of people proud. I’m there to help the team when they need it. We had the overwhelming impression that we were going to win, and that that was just the way it was going to be. After the dramatic loss to Chelsea three years ago and all of our Europa League performances this season, we’ve earned this. We’ve got what we deserved.”
According to Frankfurt midfielder Sebastian Rode: “This team is unbelievable. We earned everything we got and we are so incredibly happy to be able to celebrate now with the fans. It’s been a long, hard journey.”
The club’s defender said Martin Hinteregger said: “What a match that was. Winning on penalties fits in perfectly with the whole narrative – it’s just crazy. What happened here today is unbelievable. And now we’ve got next season to look forward to, but first we just want to enjoy the trophy. Congratulations to everyone involved!”
And Djibril Sow stayed:”We beat some of the biggest teams in the world en route to this title. We knew that today’s match would come down to effort and commitment. We never gave up and now we’re over the moon. You couldn’t tell that our fans were outnumbered – they were absolutely crazy throughout the entire match. Barcelona was exceptional but I think that the next few days are going to be even better.”
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