MANCHESTER UNITED legend Sir Alex Ferguson surprised fans by becoming a “life member” of Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday.
As his former side Aberdeen geared up to play against the Bundesliga side in December, representatives from the German club met with Fergie to hand him a Frankfurt scarf and shirt with his name on.
But many will have been confused as to how the Scottish icon’s relationship with the team first came to be.
In fact, it is a story that stretches back more than 60 years to Fergie’s early years as a player.
Frankfurt vs Rangers in European Cup semi-final
Seven years before he joined Rangers as a striker – where he scored 35 goals in 66 games – he attended the 1960 European Cup semi-final between Frankfurt and the Scottish giants.
Rangers lost the first leg 6-1 in Germany, before they were beaten 6-3 on their home patch in a 12-4 aggregate thrashing.
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And that is where Ferguson’s admiration for the club began – despite Frankfurt losing the European Cup final 7-3 to Real Madrid.
Speaking about the semi-final tie, he said: “That was unbelievable. In the first leg, Frankfurt beat Rangers 6-1.
“I was at the second leg when Eintracht came to Ibrox with 70,000 spectators.
“Of course we felt hopeful and told ourselves that the Rangers could come back. In the end they lost again by six goals.
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“I was a Rangers fan and only lived about 200 meters from Ibrox. I also attended the final and hoped Frankfurt would win as they had beaten Rangers.
“At the time I was 17 years old and played for Queens Park FC from Glasgow.
“It was a great game. Kress scored the first goal. We said to ourselves, ‘Wow! A great German team.’
“But then there were Puskas, Di Stefano, Gento. I don’t think there will ever be another team as charismatic as the Real Madrid team at the time.
“Puskas scored four goals and Di Stefano three. They were fantastic players and the 7-3 win was an incredible game.
“There was no shame in losing this game. Frankfurt had proven itself in the semi-final against the Rangers.”
Scoring hat-trick against Frankfurt
In 1967, Ferguson was given the opportunity to avenge that defeat in the European Cup semi-final when he faced Frankfurt in his first game since moving to Rangers.
The two teams played in a pre-season friendly as Fergie bagged a debut hat-trick in a 5-3 win.
But while the legendary manager has fond memories of the match, he admits it did not quite atone for what had happened seven years earlier.
He added: “It was my first game for the Rangers. We won 5-3, but I wouldn’t call it revenge for 1960.
“I scored a hat trick against Hans Tilkowski in the Frankfurt goal. Grabowski also played.
“He was only 23 years old at the time and played until 1980, unbelievable.
“He also played in the 1974 World Cup and I still remember his cross for the Muller goal against Italy in 1970.”
Facing Frankfurt as Aberdeen boss
More than a decade on from scoring a treble against Frankfurt, Fergie came up against them in the Uefa Cup first round as Aberdeen manager in 1979.
And the Germans got the better of his side as they earned a 1-1 draw in the first leg, before returning home and securing a 1-0 victory for a 2-1 aggregate win.
But the aftermath of the match saw Ferguson learn an important lesson in his development as a coach.
He recalls: “I was in my second season as coach of Aberdeen FC and we had once again qualified for the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
“Frankfurt were the better team, but we saved the game with an equaliser. We had the chance to travel to Frankfurt, where we lost 1-0.
“Bernd Holzenbein scored the goal in the second game that knocked us out of the competition.
“I learned an important lesson when we played abroad. Some players went out after the game. After that, I made sure that something like that never happened again.”
Watching Frankfurt beat Rangers again
Ferguson never ran into Frankfurt during his sensational 27-year spell as Manchester United boss – where he won 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues.
But after retiring from management, he then watched as Frankfurt and Rangers met once again in the 2022 Europa League final – 62 years after Fergie saw the two clubs clash in the European Cup.
And once again the Glasgow-born icon was left bitterly disappointed as Frankfurt beat his boyhood club on penalties.
But he still admired the spectacle fans from both sides created in Seville, Spain.
When asked if he watched the game, he said: “Naturally. I saw the game. It was pretty even.
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“It was nice to see that both teams brought so many fans to Seville that they had to open another stadium in the city to bring in additional fans.
“It was fantastic to see a final like that.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
