EINTRACHT FRANKFURT
UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg, Frankfurt Stadion, Thursday 5 May 2022, 8pm BST
After trips to Croatia, Belgium, Austria, Spain and France, West Ham United continue their European tour with a visit to Germany.
The Claret and Blue Army will descend on the city of Frankfurt-am-Main ahead of the Irons’ UEFA Europa League semi-final second-leg tie with the city’s Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, which translates roughly into English as ‘Frankfurt United’.
While West Ham’s run to the last four has included impressive victories over Dinamo Zagreb, Genk, Rapid Vienna, Sevilla and Olympique Lyonnais, our opponents have also produced a series of eye-catching results, topping a group that included Fenerbahçe, Antwerp and Olympiacos before overcoming Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis and Barcelona in the knockout rounds.
Eintracht will be hoping to go one better than 2018/19, when they reached the semi-finals before being beaten on penalties by Chelsea, and of course the Germans go into Thursday's tie holding a 2-1 advantage from the first leg at London Stadium.
Previously, Frankfurt reached the 1960 European Cup final and 1980 UEFA Cup final, losing to Real Madrid and Borussia Mönchengladbach respectively.
How to get there…
Frankfurt is home to Europe’s sixth-busiest airport and is served by multiple daily flights from London and other English airports.
From the airport, take S-Bahn lines S8 or S9 to Frankfurt Central Station (Hauptbahnhof), with a journey time of 10-12 minutes.
You will notice halfway along the way that the train stops at Stadion station, which serves Eintracht Frankfurt’s stadium. From the S-Bahn station, it around a 10-15 minute walk to the ground.
Alternatively, you can take the tram, with line 21 linking Frankfurt Central Station to the ground.
Where to stay…
With a population of well over 750,000 people, Frankfurt is not only a very big city but also a global financial hub, meaning much of the accommodation there is aimed predominantly at the business market.
However, it also means there are thousands upon thousands of hotel rooms, apartments and other options for staying overnight.
If you go online, you can easily find somewhere to put your head down all over the city, but if you’d like to experience something a little livelier, then head for the Sachsenhausen, Bahnhofsviertel or Bornheim areas.
If you prefer a more refined, upmarket experience, then book accommodation in the Westend or Nordend districts.
What to do…
Despite its reputation for being a financial city, Frankfurt has plenty of attractions aside from the pursuit of wealth.
Among them are the Museumsufer (Museum Embankment), which is home to some of Germany’s most important museums and galleries.
For those who like to sample local delicacies, head to the Kleinmarkthalle (Small Market Hall), where nearly 160 stalls sell food and drinks and other produce.
If you fancy sitting down to eat and watch the world go round, head to Berger Straße, which is home to some of Frankfurt’s most historic restaurants and cafés.
What’s happened there before…
This will be our first visit to Eintracht’s 51,500-capacity Frankfurt Stadion, which was constructed for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and 2006 World Cup finals.
However, we have been to Frankfurt a few times previously, to Eintracht’s old Waldstadion, most notably for a European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final first leg on 31 March 1976. The game ended 2-1 in the Germans’ favour, but we roared back to win 3-1 at the Boleyn Ground to reach the final.
Prior to that, West Ham visited the Waldstadion for three tour/friendly matches and won all three – 4-0 in May 1923 and 2-1 in both May 1928 and August 1965.
