Eintracht Frankfurt Greatest All-Time team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

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1980 UEFA Cup

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund,
Borussia Mönchengladbach, Schalke 04, Werder Bremen,
Hamburger SV, Kaiserslautern, Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg
FC Koln, VfB Stuttgart, 

Western German regional 

Eintracht Frankfurt was founded in 1899 and have won one German championship, five DFB-Pokals and one UEFA Cup. Since 1925, their stadium has been the Waldstadion, which was renamed Commerzbank-Arena in 2005.

The origins of the side go back to a pair of football clubs founded in 1899: Frankfurter Fußball-Club Viktoria von 1899 – regarded as the "original" football side in the club's history – and Frankfurter Fußball-Club Kickers von 1899. Both clubs were founding members of the new Nordkreis-Liga in 1909. These two teams merged in May 1911 to become Frankfurter Fußball Verein (Kickers-Viktoria), an instant success, taking three league titles from 1912 to 1914 in the Nordkreis-Liga and qualifying for the Southern German championship in each of those seasons. In turn, Frankfurter FV joined the gymnastics club Frankfurter Turngemeinde von 1861 to form TuS Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861 in 1920. (The German word Eintracht means 'harmony, concord,' and Eintracht X is the equivalent of X United in English in the names of sports teams.

1960 European Cup Final

Team  
GK: Egon Loy (Germany)
Egon Loy started with local side  TSV 04 Schwabach.  From 1954 to 1967, he played for Eintracht Frankfurt.  In 1960, his club reached the Final of the European Cup, in which they lost to Real Madrid.  The game was known to be the greatest match ever played.  In the semi-final, they destroyed Rangers with the score of 6-1 and 6-3.  On 30 May 1954 Loy played for the Germany national amateur football team in Longwy against France. It was the only amateur international match in 1954, ending 0–0.

GK: Uli Stein (Germany)
Stein began his career in 1978 with Arminia Bielefeld. After two years, he moved to Hamburger SV where he played from 1980 to 1987. He also played for Eintracht Frankfurt. The highlight of his career was winning the European Cup (UEFA Champions League) in 1983, with Hamburger SV. He also went on to win the DFB-Pokal with Eintracht Frankfurt in 1988. He represented the West German national team 6 times between 1983 and 1986. He went Mexico 1986.

GK: Andreas Köpke (Germany)

Köpke began his club career at Holstein Kiel in 1979, he retired  at 1. FC Nürnberg at the end of the 2000–01 2. Bundesliga season. He also played at Eintracht Frankfurt, Hertha Berlin, Charlottenburg and Olympique Marseille.  He earned 59 caps for Germany, winning the Euro 1996 as the starting keeper.  He also went to both 1990 and 1994 World Cup Finals. He was German Player of the Year in 1993.

Andreas Köpke 

RB: Friedel Lutz (Germany) 
From 1957 to 1963, Lutz played for Eintracht Frankfurt.  In 1960, he was a member of the team that lost to Real Madrid in the European Cup Final.  From 1966 to 1967, he played for 1860 Munich.  Then, he returnd to Frankfrut and played until 1973. He played 12 times for West Germany.  He went to the 1966 World Cup Finals.

RB/CB: Thomas Berthold (Germany)
Thomas Berthold began his career in 1982 with Eintracht Frankfurt. In Italy, he played for Hellas Verona  for two seasons, and another two for A.S. Roma.  He later played for FC Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart and Turkey's Adanaspor.  With 62 caps, he went to the 1986, 1990 and 1994 World Cup  Finals, winning the 1990 edition.  He also played in the 1988 European Championship.

CB: Karl-Heinz Körbel (Germany)
Karl-Heinz Körbel is chiefly associated with spending his entire playing career at Eintracht Frankfurt from 1972 to 1991. He currently holds the record for most Bundesliga appearances at 602.  With Eintracht Frankfurt, he was a part of the team that won the 1980 UEFA Cup.  He also won 4 DFB-Pokal cups. From 1974 to 1975, he played 6 times for West Germany.

Karl-Heinz Körbel 

SW: Manfred Binz (Germany)
From 1985 to 1996, Binz played for Eintracht Frankfurt.  in 1996, he moved to Italy and played for Brescia, helping the club to grain promotion.  From 1998 to 1999, he played for Borussia Dortmund.  With the German national team, he earned 14 caps.  He was a member of the 1992 European Championship team.

CB: Uwe Bindewald (Germany)
Uwe Bindewald's career began at FSV Dorheim. He also played for SG Melbach-Södel and Kickers Offenbach before he moved in 1986 to Eintracht Frankfurt.  In 2004, he moved to 1. FC Eschborn.  Bindewald is regarded a very fair player, having only received one red card in the entirety of his career.  He was uncapped.

CB/SW: Bruno Pezzey (Austria)
Bruno Pezzey is regarded as one of Austria's greatest defenders of all time.  He played 84 times for Austria between 1975 and 1990 He was a participant at the 1978 World Cup and 1982 World Cup Finals.  At the club football level, he was best known for his stints with FC Wacker Innsbruck and Eintracht Frankfurt.   He won the 1979-1980 UEFA Cup withh Frankfurt. He also played for Werder Bremen between 1983 and 1987. He died at the age of 39.

Bruno Pezzey 

LM/LB: Willi Neuberger (Germany)
Neuberger played from 1966 until 1983 in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen, Wuppertaler SV and Eintracht Frankfurt. With Eintracht he won the DFB-Pokal in 1975 and 1981 and UEFA Cup in 1980. With his 520 Bundesliga appearances he was the record player for a long time before he was overtaken by team mate Karl-Heinz Körbel. He won two caps for West Germany in 1968.

RB/LB: Fahrudin Jusufi (Yugoslavia)
Fahrudin Jusufi was the greatest fullback in Yugoslavian football history.  He played at the 1962 FIFA World Cup and at the 1960 Summer Olympics, where his team won the gold medal.   During his career, he played for FK Partizan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Germania Wiesbaden and FC Dornbirn, retiring in 1972. He was part of the Partizan squad when they became vice-champions of Europe after losing the 1966 European Cup Final against Real Madrid.

Fahrudin Jusufi

DM: Ralf Falkenmayer (Germany)
Falkenmayer made 385 Bundesliga appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen. With Eintracht he won the DFB-Pokal in 1981 and with Bayer Leverkusen the UEFA Cup in 1988, despite missing his penalty in the shootout in the final.  Between 1984 and 1986, he earned 4 caps for West Germany.  He took part with West Germany at the Euro 1984 in France.

LW/CM: Hans Weilbächer (Germany)
Weilbächer joined Eintracht Frankfrut in 1952.  He was a member of the team that played against Real Madrid in the 1960 European Cup Final.  His job was to mark Alfredo di Stefano.  For the national team, he had played for the amateur national side as well as B national team.  For the senior side, He only made a single appearance against Ireland in 1955 largely because Horst Szymaniak occupied his position.

CM: Uwe Bein  (Germany)

Uwe Bein's career began in 1978 with Kickers Offenbach, before he moved to 1. FC Köln, Hamburger SV and Eintracht Frankfurt. He also helped Köln to the 1986 UEFA Cup Final. In 1994, he moved to Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds in 1996. In 1997, he made appearances for VfB Gießen.  From 1989 to 1993, he played 17 times for Germany.  He played 4 games at the 1990 World Cup Finals as Germany won the World Cup.

Uwe Bein  

CM/RM: Rudolf Gramlich (Germany)

Gramlich played his entire career with Eintracht Frankfrut, but his career was interrupted by the Second World War.  Gramlich made 22 international appearances for Germany between 1931 and 1936,achieving third place at the 1934 World Cup in Italy. He was the captain of the German team at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

AM/RW: Jurgen Grabowski (Germany)
Jurgen Grabowski played his entire career with Eintracht Frankfrut. With this team he won the German Cup in 1974 and 1975 and the UEFA Cup in 1980.He was capped 44 times.  He had 44 caps for West Germany.  He went to three World Cup Finals: 1966, 1970 and 1974.  He won the European Championship in 1972 and then, the  World Cup two years later in 1974.  

Jurgen Grabowski

LW/AM: Bernd Nickel (Germany)
Nickel began his career in 1957 at SV Eisemroth. In 1966 he was signed by Eintracht Frankfurt, where he was one of their all-time leading scorer.  His biggest success was the victory of the UEFA Cup in 1980. Nickel stayed until 1983 at the Eintracht. He joined BSC Young Boys from Switzerland for the 1983–84 season.  Nickel was capped once for West Germany in 1974.

AM: Andreas Moeller (Germany)
Moeller played for Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, and Schalke 04. He won the UEFA Cup with Juventus in 1993, beating Borussia Dortmund 6–1 on aggregate. He then won the Champions League with Dortmund in 1997, beating his former team, Juventus, 3–1.  With the Germany, Möller won the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96.  He was capped 85 times, scoring 29 goals. He also played for his country at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, as well as Euro 92. 

AM: Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria)

Jay-Jay Okocha is widely considered to be one of Nigeria's greatest footballers. In 2007 Jay-Jay Okocha was voted number 12 on the greatest African footballers of the past 50 years by CAF.  He was Nigeria Player of the Year in 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.  He played in three World Cup Finals(1994, 1998, 2002) and won an Olympic Gold medal in 1996.  At the club level, he played for Fenerbahçe, Eintracht Frankfurt, PSG, Bolton Wanderers and Hull City.

Jay-Jay Okocha 

AM/SS: Alfred Pfaff (Germany)
Pfaff club was Eintracht Frankfurt with whom he won the 1959 German Championship, and in 1960 reached the finals of Champion's Cup against Real Madrid. Pfaff was capped seven times between 1953 and 1956 for West Germany.  He was a aprt of the team that won the 1954 World Cup.  He scored a goal against Hungary in the preliminary round.

RW/FW: Bernd Hölzenbein (Germany)
Holz debuted for Eintracht Frankfurt in 1967.  Hölzenbein won the UEFA Cup with Frankfurt in 1980. He is their all-time leading scoring.  Later, he became a teammate of Gerd Müller at Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the United States.  He earned 40 caps for West Germany.  He was a member of the 1974 World Cup winning team.  He also went to the 1978 World Cup and 1976 European Championship.

FW: Karl Ehmer (Germany)
Ehmer played for Eintracht Frankfurt from 1927 to 1938.  He played in 130 league games and scored 138 goals. In the 1931-32 season he scored 55 goals in 38 competitive matches (33 goals in 19 league matches) and to this day still holds the season record for Eintracht Frankfurt.   

ST: Anthony Yeboah (Ghana)

Anthony Yeboah enjoyed a successful career in Europe and was one of the best African players in the 1990's.  His most successful period was spent with Eintracht Frankfrut where he was the Bundesliga back-to-back top scorers twice in five seasons. He also played for Leeds United. He earned 59 caps, Despite playing with Abedi Pele, Ghana failed to qualify for the World Cup Finals. He is the third highest goalscoring total in the nation's history behind Abedi Pele and Asamoah Gyan.

Anthony Yeboah 

RW/ST: Richard Kress (Germany)
Kress played for Eintracht Frankfurt from 1953 until 1964 as a typical right winger. He won the German championship in 1959 and played in the European Cup final in 1960 against Real Madrid. He scored the first goal of the match. He was capped nine times for Germany between 1954 and 1961 contributing two goals. Kress still is the oldest player to give his debut in the Bundesliga.

ST:  Cha Bum Kun 차범근 (South Korea)
Cha Bum Kun is probably the greatest Asian player in the modern era.  He won two UEFA Cups, one each for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen. he also played for Air Force in South Korea and SV Darmstadt 98. He was widely considered one of the best forwards in the Bundesliga throughout his career. He became the third-highest-paid footballer in Germany while playing there. For the national team, he had 135 caps and went to Mexico 1986.

Cha Bum Kun 

Honorable Mention
Wilhelm Gmelin (Germany), Maurizio Gaudino (Germany), Manfred Binz (Germany), Wilhelm Huberts (Austria), Hugo Mantel (Germany), Peter Reichel (Germany), Rudolf Bommer (Germany), Ronald Borchers (Germany), Jürgen Pahl (Germany), Hermann Höfer (Germany), Ralf Weber (Germany), Dieter Stinka (Germany), Wolfgang Kraus (Germany), Hans Weilbächer (Germany).

Squad Explanation
-- In 1960, Eintracht Frankfurt reached the Final of the European Cup against Real Madrid.  Real Madrid featuring  Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskás and Francisco Gento were considered the greatest club team of all-time.  The match in Hampden Park that day is widely considered the greatest match ever played.   I selected the following players from that game: Egon Loy, Friedel Lutz, and Richard Kress, 
-- They won the 1980 UEFA Cup by beating Borussia Mönchengladbach, a side that featured a 19 years old Lothar Matthäus.  From that team, I selected Bernd Hölzenbein, Bruno Pezzey, Karl-Heinz Körbel, Cha Bum Kun and Willi Neuberger.  
-- For goalkeepers, Egon Loy and Uli Stein are probably the obvious choice.  Jürgen Pahl won the UEFA Cup for the team in 1980, but I took Andreas Köpke because he was more famous than Pahl.  He was playing for Eintracht Frankfurt when he won the Euro 1996 with Germany.
-- Karl-Heinz Körbel played his entire career here.  He olds the record for the most appearances in the Bundesliga with 602 games.
-- I know that Adolf Bechtold was a hero of the club in the 1940's, but I do not know much about him.  He was a defender, but playing where in the defence.  He was still with the team at the time of the 1960 European Cup Final, but he was no longer a starter.
-- Thomas Berthold was a home grown player.  He spent 5 seasons here.  I needed him to play both as a backup rightback and the centerback.  He edged out rightback/centerback Hans-Walter Eigenbrodt from the 1960 European Cup team and rightback Peter Reichel.  He was also very famous during his prime due to the fact that he played for the German national team.
-- I need a defensive midfielder.  So I nearly took Alexander Schur who was a fan favorite.  In the end, I took Ralf Falkenmayer who had been capped by West Germany.
-- When the Bundesliga was founded in 1963, Wilhelm Huberts was one of four foreigners in the league.  He was the only Austrian.  He only made honorable mention.
--  The big question mark is the attack midfielder position.  They had too many great players.  Alfred Pfaff who was the center of attack at the 1960 European Cup Final is often identified as one of Frankfrut's greatest player.   Bernd Nickel, Jay-Jay Okacha and Andreas Moller all made strong cases to be on the team.  Nickel is their second all-time leading scorer and in appearance record.  He could play as a left winger.Jay-Jay Okacha and Andreas Möller were famous internationally. Möller was homegrown.  In the end, I took all three.  I could not find space for Ronald Borchers.  Yes, I do not need so many players on the same position and this would leave the team unbalance.
-- Jürgen Grabowski also played as an attack midfielder, but he could also play on the right wing.  Besides, he is probably their greatest ever player. 
-- Bernd Hölzenbein is their all-time leading scorer.
-- Tomny Yeoboah was the Bundesliga top scorer twicer (1992–93, 1993–94).  He was on the Team of the Year on the same two seasons.  He spent a total of 6 seasons with the club.
-- Cha Bum Kun became the top goalscorer of Frankfurt in three consecutive seasons. (1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83) as well as winning the UEFA Cup.
-- Karl Ehmer scored 138 goals in 130 games for them.

Formation