Oliver Glasner has revealed that he did not expect his side to be competing in a European final this season ahead of their UEFA Europa League tie against Rangers on Wednesday night. The Austrian has only been in charge of Die Adler since last summer and has seen indifferent form in the league compared to their Europa League exploits.
The side, which is the main club of Germany's fifth largest city and economic hub Frankfurt, finished 11th in the Bundesliga, failing to win any of their last eight games in the league. Glasner, however, has drawn praise for his side's European run which has seen them take the scalps of both Barcelona and West Ham on their way to the final in Seville.
His side were supported by over 30,000 travelling fans when they visited Spain to face Barcelona in the competition's quarter-final stage and will enjoy similar support in Seville. Their support will be rivalled by that of Glasgow's Rangers supporters, who are set to travel in their thousands to support their team in their first European final since 2008.
Glasner, 47, will hope that his side can handle the atmosphere in Seville's Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, where over 43,000 fans will be in full voice supporting their respective clubs. He has spoken in the build-up about 'special moments' on the route to the final, revealing his thoughts to Frankfurt's media channels ahead of the match.
"I think we have had a lot of special moments. I could talk about every game. We had our great win in Barcelona and we won both games against a [English] Premier League team." He explained.
"The most special moment will be the Final. When we started, I didn't expect the end of this journey would be the Final. I now hope the trophy is the end. After a tough summer, we had a lot of new players, totally new staff.
"It took several months to find a common philosophy of playing. Compliment to the players, they work hard in every game and training session. They now have the reward of a final."
