On 8 March 1899 a group of young men in Frankfurt founded the club from which today's Eintracht was born. On 8 March 2027 Eintracht Frankfurt turns 128. It is a story of two clubs that became one, an eagle on the chest and some of the most electric European nights in German football.

Two clubs, one "harmony"

The first ancestor was Frankfurter FC Victoria, founded on 8 March 1899 by 15 founders. It was an offshoot of Germania 1894, the city's oldest football club. Around the same year Frankfurter FC Kickers, the second ancestor, appeared too.

In 1911 the two clubs merged into Frankfurter FV. In 1920 they joined the gymnastics club Frankfurter Turngemeinde of 1861, although they went their separate ways again in 1927. The word Eintracht means "harmony" and is something like the German "United".

Red, black and white

Eintracht's colours are a legacy of the two founding clubs. One wore red and white, the city colours, and the other black and white, the colours of Prussia. That is how the combination we know today came about.

The kit has traditionally been black and red or black and white. Today Adidas dresses the team in a black shirt with red details, while the away kit is white.

The eagle on the chest

The crest is based on Frankfurt's coat of arms, which recalls the single-headed imperial eagle of the 13th century. In 1980 the club switched to a stylised black-and-white eagle. At its centenary in 1999 the red "traditional" eagle returned, slightly refreshed.

The eagle also gave the team its nickname, "Die Adler", the Eagles. Since 2005 the club has even had a live mascot, the golden eagle Attila from Hanau Zoo.

From Berlin to Glasgow

In 1959 Eintracht became German champions, beating local rivals Kickers Offenbach 5-3 after extra time in Berlin. The following season it went on a run that people still remember. In the semi-final it crushed Rangers 12-4 on aggregate.

In the 1960 European Cup final at Hampden Park it faced the great Real Madrid. In front of about 127,000 spectators it lost 7-3, with Puskás scoring four and Di Stéfano three. It was a defeat, but also one of the most legendary finals of all time.

European nights and big names

In 1980 came the UEFA Cup, against Gladbach, thanks to the away-goals rule. The 1970s belonged to Jürgen Grabowski, Bernd Hölzenbein and Bernd Nickel. The first two were world champions in 1974, and Hölzenbein won the penalty for the equaliser in the final.

Defender Charly Körbel holds the Bundesliga appearance record with 602 matches, all for Eintracht. In 2022 the club won the Europa League in Seville, beating Rangers on penalties. In that competition it often played in all white, and the Spanish called it "la bestia blanca", the white beast.

For the 125th anniversary in 2024, an all-black commemorative shirt was released. Part of the founding document was printed on it, and the collar carried the founding date in gold lettering.

In the early 1990s, with Tony Yeboah and Uwe Bein, the team played spectacular football but was unpredictable. It beat the big sides and lost to the small ones, which is why it was called "Launische Diva", the moody diva. Its home since 1925 has been the Waldstadion, the "forest stadium", as fans still call it despite the sponsored name Deutsche Bank Park.

Celebrate with us

From the Victoria of 1899 to Seville in 2022, Eintracht remains a club with character and one of the most passionate crowds in Europe. Happy 128th birthday to the Eagles of Frankfurt!

See our Eintracht Frankfurt jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Waldstadion during an Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg match – Davicilio20, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC0.