Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner admits his side took inspiration from their Europa League Final against Rangers to reach the last 16 of the Champions League. And their CEO has revealed they are riding Villarreal's coattails by following the Spanish side's model for European glory.
It's been a rocky road for Rangers in Europe since they lost the showpiece to Eintracht on penalties in Seville. They rallied to conquer PSV and join Frankfurt and rivals Celtic in the Champions League, but they've since lost every game to record the worst ever group stage outing in the competition's history.
Eintracht meanwhile clinched a place in the knockout rounds with a stunning comeback win at Sporting. And they have revealed they spent the summer studying the success of modest La Liga side Villarreal, who reached the semi-final of the competition last season before eventually losing out to Liverpool in the last four.
Eintracht chief executive Axel Hellmann explained: "We chose a role model from Spain. Villarreal showed us a club like ours could qualify for the knockout stages and progress. We are underdogs at this level in Europe so we studied a similar club that overachieved last season. They went all the way to the semi-finals and it was a dream for them.
"I can definitely imagine us doing something similar. We would take anyone in the next round, although I would rather we didn't draw Manchester City!"
Eintracht looked down and out when Arthur struck for the Portuguese side early on. But just as they did in Seville, they came from behind to get the result they wanted and proud manager Oliver Glasner said: "It's amazing what the players keep doing, how they deal with setbacks.
"There was also a setback in the final against Rangers. They used their willpower again to get the second goal that we needed. It's incredible what they can achieve."
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