Soccer: Red-white-red duel for Europe’s Supercup

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti said before the duel with the opponent from Frankfurt: “Last year Eintracht achieved something special because they were not among the favourites. This is a team that will definitely cause us problems.”

After winning the Champions League last May, the “Royals” are in the Supercup final for the eighth time. They have won four events so far. With another success, the Madrilenians would catch up with record winners FC Barcelona and AC Milan.

The unique Frankfurt trip through Europe reached its climax with the Europa League title in Seville. With the support of thousands of fans and an incredible team spirit, the “Adler” managed to beat even supposedly larger teams.

Glasner was quite optimistic about the showdown: “We want to be able to win the game against an actually overpowering opponent with our game idea, our characters and our passion.” In total, more than 10,000 Eintracht fans are expected in Helsinki to support them .

High-scoring duel 62 years ago

The only competitive match between the two teams was 62 years ago. In front of around 127,621 spectators in Glasgow’s Hampden Park, the “Royals” won the final of the 1960 national championship cup 7:3. In the previous 46 Supercup finals under the auspices of the European Football Association (UEFA), the winners of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup or the Champions League have won 26 times.

Wednesday’s game will be Madrilenians’ first competitive game of the new season. The La Liga season doesn’t start until Sunday. The current form is therefore difficult to assess, but the role of favorites tends towards the “Royal”. In the friendlies, there was recently a 0-1 defeat against rivals FC Barcelona and a 2-0 win over Juventus Turin. Alaba could already celebrate his fourth title (CL, league, Spanish Supercup) as a “royal” after his move in the summer of last year.

Frankfurt must compete without Kostic

The Supercup final also offers Eintracht the chance to forget the botched start of the Bundesliga against FC Bayern (1:6) on Friday. However, this requires a significant increase, especially on the defensive. Frankfurt is in the final of the UEFA Supercup for the first time. And could only become the second team alongside Bayern to bring this trophy to Germany. Coach Glasner has to do without top player Filip Kostic. The Serb is in final talks with a new club (Juventus Turin).

Much to the annoyance of Frankfurt President Peter Fischer, who has complained about the procedure and the timing of Kostic’s upcoming move. “If you ever get the chance to play in the Supercup final, against Real Madrid, not against Wetterau, Real Madrid! If you then get the award for the best player in the Europa League down there on the pitch, in front of 500 countries looking somewhere, and you don’t do it, then I realize how messed up the business is at the end of the day,” he said the club boss. “It hurts, but that doesn’t detract from Filip’s performance at all.”