Fifty years ago, Eintracht Frankfurt prevailed in the European Cup Winners’ Cup in their only match against Atlético Madrid to date. Peter Reichel can still remember it vividly today. That’s not just because of his winning goal in the second leg.
Thanks to an early brace from 1974 World Cup winner Bernd Hölzenbein, Eintracht took a 2-0 lead on the 22nd minute with “astonishing composure” after “Holz” had already scored in the 6th and 15th minutes.
Atletico defender José Louis Capon managed to score the equalizer, but Eintracht held on to win. The Madrid team did not play fair. “The home team sensed their chances and sometimes tackled their opponents with brutal fouls.”
“This is your chance to shine”
Although his big moment didn’t come until the second leg, former Eintracht pro Peter Reichel remembers his performance at the famous Estadio Vicente Calderon well. “The first leg in Madrid was already sensational for us. I played against Argentine international Ruben Ayala. Coach Dietrich Weise said to me: ‘You can make your masterpiece there.’ Atletico had underestimated us, and we played freely. I provided the assist for the 1-0 and worked Ayala so hard that he certainly knew my name after the game.”
Around the second leg at the Waldstadion, the 73-year-old experienced a story that would be unthinkable in modern professional soccer. Reichel not only put his body on the line on the pitch at the time, he also trained his brain as a student teacher. When he moved to Eintracht in 1970, he enrolled at university at the same time. “Young people today would say that’s impossible. Lectures, training, lectures, training. That was my daily routine. At nine o’clock in the evening, it was all over.
In 1974, I took my first state exam and went into teaching for my legal clerkship,” recalls the former right-back. He had to teach twelve hours a week in math and sports. The principal arranged his schedule so that it would work.
But the European Cup home game against Atletico caused a problem. “Before the second leg, I went to Weise and explained to him that I couldn’t play. The whole seminar came to visit the class on match day to watch me. That couldn’t be rescheduled,” Reichel describes the dilemma. But coach Weise didn’t give up so easily.
Reichel recounts: “He thought about it for a few minutes and then said that I should go to school in the morning. The evening before the game, we were staying at a hotel in Neu-Isenburg as usual. From there, I drove to school, but had to be back for lunch. Weise warned me: “Don’t say a word to the press. Because if it came out, it would be unpleasant for me, especially if we were eliminated. No one noticed that I wasn’t there in between.”
Frankfurt won 1-0. Reichel describes the key scene: “I scored the goal in the 88th minute. I remember it very clearly, as I haven’t scored that many goals in my career. When I saw Hölzenbein running to the baseline, I sprinted into the penalty area. When the cross came, I knew I was going to score. It was such a relief for me.” Nevertheless, he dutifully went back to school the next day.
Eintracht were only eliminated in the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup against West Ham United (2-1; 1-3). The return leg in London provided some legendary stories.
But back to Reichel: the Atletico conqueror ended his career three years later at the age of just 26. Not because of injury, but voluntarily: “After such a long break, I wouldn’t have been able to switch to teaching without any problems. After all, they weren’t waiting for me. I had passed my second state exam in 1976. After that, I had to wait because there was a hiring freeze at first. I then started teaching in 1978 and stayed in the profession for 38 years.”
When Eintracht takes to the field at the Estadio Metropolitano on Tuesday evening, Reichel, who has played twice for the national team, will be cheering them on from the stands. On the Eintracht website, he says: “I’m incredibly excited about this trip because I’ve had some very special experiences with Atletico, of course.”
Atletico a force at home
However, German clubs have struggled at the Metropolitano recently. In their last 15 home games against German teams, Atletico have not lost a single game (eleven wins, four draws). Most recently, they recorded three 2-1 wins in a row against Dortmund, Leipzig, and Leverkusen. The Madrid side are also a force to be reckoned with at home in the Champions League, winning nine of their last ten home games in Europe’s premier club competition. Eintracht, for their part, have an impressive record against Spanish teams in European competitions: the Hessians have not lost any of their last ten encounters (six wins, four draws). Only the first two games ended in defeat: in 1960, Eintracht lost the “game of the century” in the European Cup final against Real Madrid (3-7); in the round of 16 of the 1968/69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, SGE lost 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao in the Basque Country. Frankfurt also suffered a 0-2 defeat against Real Madrid in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup.
