Eintracht Frankfurt are a good team, it’s an obvious statement but one that needs to be made. They’ve beaten Real Betis, Barcelona and West Ham United on their way to the final in Seville and little notice should be taken of their Bundesliga position.
With the threat of relegation not an issue and the teams above them limiting any chance of qualification for the Champions League and Europa League, they decided to prioritise this tournament, not being in a title race gave them the edge in mid-week fixtures against teams who were frequently fielding a similar XI twice a week.
On paper they may be the third best German side we have faced, however, they are a team full of internationals and it’s not like the Bundesliga is lacking in depth when you consider a club like Schalke has only just been promoted back up to the top flight – they should be respected but not feared.
This is the message that Giovanni van Bronckhorst should send his team out with on Wednesday night, we’ve seen what we are capable of when we are brave in and out of possession, take risks but calculated ones, and have a real go at our opponents.
We don’t have the luxury of two legs or a home tie at Ibrox, its a straight shootout and we should adopt the same tactics as we did against Borussia Dortmund away from home – don’t leave anything on the pitch.
Processing the magnitude of what they could achieve is almost impossible, that’s why the management team need to keep it simple, keep the players focussed on the task in hand; where and when to press, the shape out of possession, where to target attacks and Frankfurt’s weaknesses at set-pieces.
No regrets, do it for yourselves, do it for the club, do it for Jimmy Bell and Walter Smith, make us dream, make us proud.