Eintracht invited to 50th anniversary

Real Madrid CF won their fifth European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1960, beating surprise package Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 in front of a 135,000 Hampden Park crowd in what many believe to have been the greatest final in the tournament's history.

Alfredo di Stéfano scored three goals and Ferenc Puskás four in a display that prompted England striker Jimmy Greaves to suggest that Madrid were "from another planet". Then UEFA president Ebbe Schwartz dubbed that final as "the best of the five so far" and there can scarcely have been many more remarkable since.

This year's showpiece at the Santiago Bernabéu between FC Internazionale Milano and FC Bayern München marks the 50th anniversary of that memorable occasion and Eintracht's remaining players are therefore attending the event following a joint initiative by UEFA and the German Football Association (DFB).

"The idea for this invitation came at the beginning of the year," said Wolfgang Niersbach, general secretary of the DFB. "That a German team made it to the final is an added bonus."

Adolf Bechtold, Dieter Lindner, Egon Loy, Friedel Lutz, Wolfgang Solz, Erwin Stein, Dieter Stinka and Hans Weilbächer are the members of the 1959/60 team who will make the trip to Spain's capital. "There will also be a meeting with the former Real players," Niersbach added. "We hope that it will be an event to remember for those former players. At the DFB, we see it as our obligation to honour tradition and those players who have done so much for German football and German clubs."

Eintracht chairman Heribert Bruchhagen, who will lead the Bundesliga outfit's delegation, is equally enthused by the commemoration. "I really think it is a great thing that they have thought of this," he said. "We feel very honoured by UEFA and the DFB, and are extremely happy about it, not only the people travelling but the whole club."