⚽UEFA Europa League Discussion Thread -- 2021/22 Winners: Eintracht Frankfurt!

[lulumiya]

It was a long journey for Frankfurt and Rangers both and I believed that they equally deserved to achieve the title at the end. But Rangers' performance wasn't good enough here. They still did well by reaching the penalty shoot-outs stage and they lost the title by a close gap too. If Ramsey didn't miss that penalty, maybe they could have won the title who knows. Rangers were really close to winning the Europa League for the first time. But this is still a good experience for them.

[AndySt]

This is an absolute fairytale for Frankfurt. Nobody expected it. Although I have to say that I was impressed with their performance in Barcelona by winning there. Although it was mainly due to the audience that was there, you can't make it with an audience alone. The victory in the tournament is absolutely deserved. In the final they were equal to Rangers, it could fall either way. Rangers would have deserved it too.

Oh, yes, to fail in your own championship, but at the same time to win the second-ranked team tournament in Europe and thereby secure access to the most prestigious European tournament, this is the whole modern Eintracht. I agree that if we take the totality of merits, then the victory in the tournament was absolutely deserved and a victory over a very poorly motivated Barcelona at their home stadium does not just happen. But in football, not everything is given according to the totality of merit and everything can be decided in one single match, and Rangers were also worthy of winning the Cup, but still they were less lucky than the club from Frankfurt.

[joker_josue]

It was a long journey for Frankfurt and Rangers both and I believed that they equally deserved to achieve the title at the end. But Rangers' performance wasn't good enough here. They still did well by reaching the penalty shoot-outs stage and they lost the title by a close gap too. If Ramsey didn't miss that penalty, maybe they could have won the title who knows. Rangers were really close to winning the Europa League for the first time. But this is still a good experience for them.

I think what hurt Rangers was the fact that the coach made substitutions at the end of the game thinking about penalties. This rarely works well, the player who enters will not enter with the focus that was generated by the competitive part of the match.

Anyway, Rangers are only proud of the excellent campaign made in this competition, and for having played a good game in the final.

[Swordsoffreedom]

It was a long journey for Frankfurt and Rangers both and I believed that they equally deserved to achieve the title at the end. But Rangers' performance wasn't good enough here. They still did well by reaching the penalty shoot-outs stage and they lost the title by a close gap too. If Ramsey didn't miss that penalty, maybe they could have won the title who knows. Rangers were really close to winning the Europa League for the first time. But this is still a good experience for them.

I think what hurt Rangers was the fact that the coach made substitutions at the end of the game thinking about penalties. This rarely works well, the player who enters will not enter with the focus that was generated by the competitive part of the match.
Anyway, Rangers are only proud of the excellent campaign made in this competition, and for having played a good game in the final.

I honestly think that we cannot blame the coach here because he thought the only rational thing which is the player who has not been playing for the whole match is usually going to have fresh legs compared to the players who have been playing.

So, it is a better chance to take with the player who was not played during the match. Obviously having fresh legs is not the most important thing when taking a penalty. But I also think that they will be proud of themselves for what they have achieved so far and there is no shame to admit that they are the runners-up in the Europa League.

[Tony116]

This is an absolute fairytale for Frankfurt. Nobody expected it. Although I have to say that I was impressed with their performance in Barcelona by winning there. Although it was mainly due to the audience that was there, you can't make it with an audience alone. The victory in the tournament is absolutely deserved. In the final they were equal to Rangers, it could fall either way. Rangers would have deserved it too.

Oh, yes, to fail in your own championship, but at the same time to win the second-ranked team tournament in Europe and thereby secure access to the most prestigious European tournament, this is the whole modern Eintracht. I agree that if we take the totality of merits, then the victory in the tournament was absolutely deserved and a victory over a very poorly motivated Barcelona at their home stadium does not just happen. But in football, not everything is given according to the totality of merit and everything can be decided in one single match, and Rangers were also worthy of winning the Cup, but still they were less lucky than the club from Frankfurt.

They have proved themselves in every term in the Europa League competition but they have failed to do so in their own respective League. They have played against teams that are stronger compared to themselves in the Europa League and won against them and on the other hand, they have played against somewhat weaker teams compared to themselves and lost in the Bundesliga. I really hope that they will be able to do better in the next season in Bundesliga.

[alpamar99]

They have proved themselves in every term in the Europa League competition but they have failed to do so in their own respective League. They have played against teams that are stronger compared to themselves in the Europa League and won against them and on the other hand, they have played against somewhat weaker teams compared to themselves and lost in the Bundesliga. I really hope that they will be able to do better in the next season in Bundesliga.

This may have something to do with their focus. This season they are focused on the Europa League and that is very good for them to make history.
On the other hand, they are playing badly in the Bundesliga because their focus is not there and as long as they are not at the bottom and near the relegation zone is good for them.
I think this strategy is the same as Villarreal in the Champions League although the results of the two clubs are different at the end

[Prince Malik]

They have proved themselves in every term in the Europa League competition but they have failed to do so in their own respective League. They have played against teams that are stronger compared to themselves in the Europa League and won against them and on the other hand, they have played against somewhat weaker teams compared to themselves and lost in the Bundesliga. I really hope that they will be able to do better in the next season in Bundesliga.

This may have something to do with their focus. This season they are focused on the Europa League and that is very good for them to make history.
On the other hand, they are playing badly in the Bundesliga because their focus is not there and as long as they are not at the bottom and near the relegation zone is good for them.
I think this strategy is the same as Villarreal in the Champions League although the results of the two clubs are different at the end

Winning the European league is s good achievement that alot of other clubs un Frankfurt level try really hard to achieve, alot of clubs with the same level can't even reach the sumi finale and when you see the clubs that wad competing in the quarter final you really wonder how Frankfurt get the title and not Barcelona, liepzig or atalanta

[joker_josue]

Winning the European league is s good achievement that alot of other clubs un Frankfurt level try really hard to achieve, alot of clubs with the same level can't even reach the sumi finale and when you see the clubs that wad competing in the quarter final you really wonder how Frankfurt get the title and not Barcelona, liepzig or atalanta

I always doubted that Barcelona would be able to reach the final. For two reasons: first, this competition is not at the level of this great club, it is difficult to motivate the team to compete in this competition. Second, this season was very bad for Barcelona, perhaps the worst season they've had in the last 15 years, so any better prepared opponent had a chance of winning.

[Juggy777]

Winning the European league is s good achievement that alot of other clubs un Frankfurt level try really hard to achieve, alot of clubs with the same level can't even reach the sumi finale and when you see the clubs that wad competing in the quarter final you really wonder how Frankfurt get the title and not Barcelona, liepzig or atalanta

I always doubted that Barcelona would be able to reach the final. For two reasons: first, this competition is not at the level of this great club, it is difficult to motivate the team to compete in this competition. Second, this season was very bad for Barcelona, perhaps the worst season they've had in the last 15 years, so any better prepared opponent had a chance of winning.

@joker_josue I’ll partially agree because while it’s true that Barcelona had a bad season, but when it Xavi took over it felt like he would get them in to the finals, hence people were surprised to see that Barcelona were eliminated. Furthermore Frankfurt played without any pressure as no one was really expecting them to win the league cup, and I’m really touched by their gesture to take out an ad for Rangers to win the Scottish cup (ad was done prior to the Scottish cup match which Rangers eventually won).

[Jackl87]

I always doubted that Barcelona would be able to reach the final. For two reasons: first, this competition is not at the level of this great club, it is difficult to motivate the team to compete in this competition. Second, this season was very bad for Barcelona, perhaps the worst season they've had in the last 15 years, so any better prepared opponent had a chance of winning.

Normally i would agree and say that a big and team like Barcelona is not really that motivated to really give their all in a competition like the UEFA Europa League, i mean in the end it is and will always be just the B-tier competition in comparison to the Champions League. That being said i really think that this year it was different for Barca because of the circumstances. I read interviews with Barca officials after they were eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage, that they really want to Europa League now because there you can also ear a good amount of money and Barca has 1,3 Billion € of debts. I read that Eintracht Frankfurt has earned around 60 Million € with the win of the Europa League. Barca would have also really needed that money.

[fzkto]

Winning the European league is s good achievement that alot of other clubs un Frankfurt level try really hard to achieve, alot of clubs with the same level can't even reach the sumi finale and when you see the clubs that wad competing in the quarter final you really wonder how Frankfurt get the title and not Barcelona, liepzig or atalanta

I always doubted that Barcelona would be able to reach the final. For two reasons: first, this competition is not at the level of this great club, it is difficult to motivate the team to compete in this competition. Second, this season was very bad for Barcelona, perhaps the worst season they've had in the last 15 years, so any better prepared opponent had a chance of winning.

I partly agree with you that Barcelona's season has been a failure, but I guess you can only say that about the start of the season. After Xavi took over as coach, things improved considerably that they were able to finish the season in second place in La Liga, even though they were in the middle of the standings for a long time. Let's see how they perform next season in the Champions League.

[laurenB7742]

I always doubted that Barcelona would be able to reach the final. For two reasons: first, this competition is not at the level of this great club, it is difficult to motivate the team to compete in this competition. Second, this season was very bad for Barcelona, perhaps the worst season they've had in the last 15 years, so any better prepared opponent had a chance of winning.

Normally i would agree and say that a big and team like Barcelona is not really that motivated to really give their all in a competition like the UEFA Europa League, i mean in the end it is and will always be just the B-tier competition in comparison to the Champions League. That being said i really think that this year it was different for Barca because of the circumstances. I read interviews with Barca officials after they were eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage, that they really want to Europa League now because there you can also ear a good amount of money and Barca has 1,3 Billion € of debts. I read that Eintracht Frankfurt has earned around 60 Million € with the win of the Europa League. Barca would have also really needed that money.

Yes, I also have to disagree that Barcelona was not motivated enough to win the Europa League because they can use any amount of money that they can get their hands on right now. It is obviously not the standards of Barcelona but right now the problem is they have lowered their standards themselves. And if they want to do well in the next season they would have eventually had to buy new players and the money that they could have earned winning the Europa League would have certainly helped them.

[visionE2]

I always doubted that Barcelona would be able to reach the final. For two reasons: first, this competition is not at the level of this great club, it is difficult to motivate the team to compete in this competition. Second, this season was very bad for Barcelona, perhaps the worst season they've had in the last 15 years, so any better prepared opponent had a chance of winning.

Normally i would agree and say that a big and team like Barcelona is not really that motivated to really give their all in a competition like the UEFA Europa League, i mean in the end it is and will always be just the B-tier competition in comparison to the Champions League. That being said i really think that this year it was different for Barca because of the circumstances. I read interviews with Barca officials after they were eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage, that they really want to Europa League now because there you can also ear a good amount of money and Barca has 1,3 Billion € of debts. I read that Eintracht Frankfurt has earned around 60 Million € with the win of the Europa League. Barca would have also really needed that money.

Yes, I also have to disagree that Barcelona was not motivated enough to win the Europa League because they can use any amount of money that they can get their hands on right now. It is obviously not the standards of Barcelona but right now the problem is they have lowered their standards themselves. And if they want to do well in the next season they would have eventually had to buy new players and the money that they could have earned winning the Europa League would have certainly helped them.

Barcaona is always difficult against German Team, Barcalona need to buy a player like Dembele for the left side because Barca rely too much on Dembele in attack.
on the other hand Barca should be grateful to be able to get a coach who can take Barcelona from the middle of the standings to rank 2 is a great thing .
This season may be without any titles, but for next season Barcelona must improve and be ready to compete again for the Champions League and La Liga.

[bekti3]

Yes, I also have to disagree that Barcelona was not motivated enough to win the Europa League because they can use any amount of money that they can get their hands on right now. It is obviously not the standards of Barcelona but right now the problem is they have lowered their standards themselves. And if they want to do well in the next season they would have eventually had to buy new players and the money that they could have earned winning the Europa League would have certainly helped them.

Actually, there might be motivation there because consciously or not they also needed an injection of funds at that time to make up for the loss because they failed in the Champions League which made them lose and they had a reason to win because at least the Europa League prize could be used as a patch there.
But the fact is that they have to accept an even harsher reality and have to fast for titles this season

[Zlantann]

I thought Barcelona would have been unstoppable in the UEFA Europa league after their exit from the Champions League. But I was really surprised when they were knocked out of the competition. This season was not a bad one for them because they would be in the Champions league next season. But I think the team needs some reinforcement.New players should be brought in and some players should leave the club. Coach Xavi is not doing badly but we expect more from him next season. Barcelona is a great club and is trophy hungry and thirsty, hence we expect more trophies next season.   

[KTChampions]

If a fairy tale is repeated over and over again, then it will cease to be a fairy tale. If Leicester would win the Premier League every year, then they would not be Cinderella but would be an ordinary top club.
By the way, in the Champions League, the last time such a fairy tale happened was already in 2003, when Mourinho led Porto to victory.

Essentially yes, but that's the point, to go from fairy tale to consistent wins and, as you said, become a top club. Leicester's fairytale was a bit different, it doesn't work anymore. And it's the Europa League, not the Champions League, it's hard to call such an event amazing or something unbelievable, it's obviously not the same level as the Champions League

It depends on which club you are talking about. For any top club, the Europa League is a "so-so" tournament where they can only find themselves if they performed unsuccessfully in the previous or current season (3rd place in the Champions League group stage). But for Eintracht Frankfurt this is a great victory which will be a milestone in the history of the club and "fathers will tell children" about it.

[LUCKMCFLY]

Not many goals happened, but the second half was interesting. I liked the Rangers game better, but that idiotic defensive mistake played a fatal role. In the end Eintracht Frankfurt became champions. Who would have thought the retired Ramsey would let his team down and not score the decisive penalty.

only by one mistake everything changes, rangers should be this the player must focus and concern to the game. team that have focus and determination will win the game, every single mistake are not allowed in every match , moreover its final.

For me, the protagonist of everything was Borré, because the Colombian player showed a lot of commitment from the beginning, I saw that he played like never before and I know that he was very tired, and having the determination to score the last goal in the upper right corner, that It is priceless, because kicking an impossible penalty to stop the goalkeeper is a very hard-hearted decision, at that moment of the penalty everything can go through the mind of a player, glory or failure, the Colombian media praised the performance of the Colombian and to tell the truth in my personal opinion he was the figure of the match, without detracting from his team.

[hahay]

I thought Barcelona would have been unstoppable in the UEFA Europa league after their exit from the Champions League. But I was really surprised when they were knocked out of the competition. This season was not a bad one for them because they would be in the Champions league next season. But I think the team needs some reinforcement.New players should be brought in and some players should leave the club. Coach Xavi is not doing badly but we expect more from him next season. Barcelona is a great club and is trophy hungry and thirsty, hence we expect more trophies next season.   

If Barcelona compete for a domestic tournament there may still be a chance for them to win a trophy, but if it is to compete on the European stage in the Champions League especially for next season I think it is still difficult. The European tournament next season will certainly be even more difficult, because with new players that will be brought in by each team will make the team even better. Well, the example now is Manchester City as we know they managed to sign Haaland, at least it proves Manchester City will be stronger than before for the Champions League competition next season.

[Lordhermes]

I thought Barcelona would have been unstoppable in the UEFA Europa league after their exit from the Champions League. But I was really surprised when they were knocked out of the competition. This season was not a bad one for them because they would be in the Champions league next season. But I think the team needs some reinforcement.New players should be brought in and some players should leave the club. Coach Xavi is not doing badly but we expect more from him next season. Barcelona is a great club and is trophy hungry and thirsty, hence we expect more trophies next season.   

Barcelona would have not been anywhere close to top four this season if not for Xavi who came to the team as a messiah,changed everything,and I'm sure he is bringing back Barca to it's former position. He has introduced their Tiki-taka pattern of play which made them so special in those days that Iniesta and Xavi were still playing.Not winning the Europa league does not really matter to them because they qualified for the champions league next season.It would have only been bad if they had not qualified for the champions league.

[Iranus]

I thought Barcelona would have been unstoppable in the UEFA Europa league after their exit from the Champions League. But I was really surprised when they were knocked out of the competition. This season was not a bad one for them because they would be in the Champions league next season. But I think the team needs some reinforcement.New players should be brought in and some players should leave the club. Coach Xavi is not doing badly but we expect more from him next season. Barcelona is a great club and is trophy hungry and thirsty, hence we expect more trophies next season.   

Barcelona would have not been anywhere close to top four this season if not for Xavi who came to the team as a messiah,changed everything,and I'm sure he is bringing back Barca to it's former position. He has introduced their Tiki-taka pattern of play which made them so special in those days that Iniesta and Xavi were still playing.Not winning the Europa league does not really matter to them because they qualified for the champions league next season.It would have only been bad if they had not qualified for the champions league.

Barcelona's team has changed dramatically since Xavi took over. Barcelona is a strong enough team now. Although the team still has some weaknesses. If Xavi gets enough funding next season, maybe he can make the Barcelona team stronger. The most important thing is that the match strategy of Barcelona has changed. As a result, their performance is much better now.