Baku Calling!
The excitement amongst the Eintracht fan base and within team and management has been rising ever since securing the spot 6 in the Bundesliga standings – European competition! At the very last match day the Eagles confirmed their participation with a last minute 2-2 draw against VfL Wolfsburg. Rumours have it that the decisive goal caused a minor earth quake around the ground and in the Frankfurt Rhein-Main area. The fans discussed possible opponents, the seeding and their favourite trips to exotic European destinations all through the qualifying stages of the Europa League 2013/14. SGE will now join the competition in the play-off stage. Last Friday UEFA held the draw and mouth to mouth took the Eintracht community by storm: Qarabag Agdam FK from Azerbaijan are the play-off opponents and the away match will be held at the Tofiq Bahramov ground in Baku.
Around 150 Eintracht supporters of the Berlin fan base followed the draw live on laptops and tablets in downtown Kreuzberg, a traditional meeting point of the local SGE supporters. Some had blocked the weeks of the matches already at work and booked flights right away. Eintracht’s Facebook, Twitter and Google+ channels were frequented constantly by fans sharing their excitement. The fixture also came with a surprise, a visa is needed to travel to the country, at a possible cost of 170 Euro. The Azerbaijan embassy received plenty of calls of international SGE ground-hoppers from all over Germany requiring entry to Baku. Meanwhile the media department of Eintracht Frankfurt issued a statement - the club contacted the embassy trying to achieve a collective solution.
Frankfurt has been waiting for this, and oh yes, we’re ready. Last season’s popular chant “Eintracht Fraaaankfurt – internationaaal” has finally materialized and a long lived tradition is coming to life again in its best possible way. Europe here we come!
The Opponent: Qarabag Agdam FK
Qarabag Agdam FK from Azerbaijan play their home matches in Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku. The stadium holds 31,200 visitors, making it the largest in the country.
Qarabag Agdam FK are a three-time Azerbaijan champion and a four-time cup winner. The club also were the first non-Baku based club to have won the Azerbaijan Premier League title. As the club’s name insinuates, Qarabag Agdam FK are originally from Agdam, a town in the southwestern part of Azerbaijan. Once inhabited by approximately 40,000 people, Agdam today is a ghost town, largely ruined during and in the aftermath of the Nagorno-Karabakh war (1988 to 1994). Qarabag FK’s former home stadium, the Imarat Stadium, was destroyed in the war, too.
The play-off round matches between Qarabag FK and Eintracht Frankfurt will take place on Thursday, 22 August 2013 in Baku and on Thursday, 29 August 2013 in Frankfurt.
