Dhat will be a party. Philip Holzer says there are a good 250,000 ticket requests. But if things get serious against FC Barcelona, there will be 48,500 spectators who will really be there live at the “game of the century”, as the chairman of the supervisory board of Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG calls it. The quarter-final first leg in the Europa League against the five-time premier class winner is a hit in many ways.
How good that there is a test run beforehand. Because it’s true: Eintracht’s Bundesliga game this Saturday (3.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky) against bottom-placed club Greuther Fürth is the test for the European Cup game next Thursday (9 p.m.).
“Everything is running at full capacity again,” said Philipp Reschke, referring to the interaction between transport companies, service providers and law enforcement agencies that has grown over the years. The lawyer is not only the legal adviser of unity. Reschke has also been directly and responsibly involved in match day organization and processing for many years. “Finally everyone is back at the start,” he said on Wednesday in a media round at the professional camp. For the first time in two years.
Even if you can hardly imagine it – it is right when Reschke says: The upcoming game against Fürth will have more spectators than in the entire 2020/2021 Bundesliga season. So far, 47,500 tickets have been sold for the encounter with the Franconians. In that season there was only one game in Frankfurt with 14,000 visitors – then Corona came and then the games in front of an audience were over.
Plans for a fan choreography
Anticipation for Barcelona. Anticipation also for a very likely choreography in the Frankfurt Arena. Reschke said: “There are such plans.” Specifically, the look at the second leg in Barcelona, where 99,000 visitors are possible in the Camp Nou, 93,000 in international games. 5000 fans who sympathize with Eintracht are officially admitted for the decisive knockout game on April 14th. But not only Reschke expects 20,000 Frankfurters for the decision in the Catalan capital.
There are several ways to get to Barcelona. Eintracht provided the fastest. The club has ordered ten charter planes, more than ever before. “If we had gotten into the Baku final back then, we would have chartered ten planes,” said Reschke. Chelsea’s penalty shoot-out thwarted that plan. From all directions: “The fans will come to Barcelona in a star shape,” Reschke knows from many conversations and experiences. By car, by bus, by train, even by boat from Mallorca – everything is possible to get to Camp Nou, the sporting place of longing.
It’s also no secret that “the black market is thriving,” as Reschke said. The drive to be there live in Barcelona is very big. “You can also buy VIP tickets for expensive money.” Possible from 395 euros and upwards. Around 9,000 day tickets, as is customary at Barça, are available for each game. Not only in everyday league life, but also in the Champions League, in which FC usually plays – or in the Europa League. Overall, said Reschke, there were around 35,000 requests for a ticket to the Camp Nou from Eintracht fans. No matter how many will ultimately be there in Barcelona: “We definitely want to have a powerful voice.”
Normally the willing fan looks up respectfully to a club of the caliber of FC Barcelona. It will be different at the Camp Nou. The guest block is at the top. The titling of the individual VIP areas is also different from that in Frankfurt. They are named after the cities where FC won its premier league titles.
