Frankfurt remains one of the most prominent and historic names in women’s football in Germany. The old 1. FFC Frankfurt ruled the nation for almost a decade, winning the Frauen-Bundesliga seven times between 1999 and 2008, including five in six seasons, and secured four European titles between 2002 and 2015.
The best of Germany, and sometimes beyond, represented Frankfurt before clubs such as Wolfsburg, and subsequently Bayern Munich, took charge, but now the city’s name is back challenging at the business end of the table.
These days it is under the guise of the city’s main club, Eintracht Frankfurt, and progress since a merger in 2020 has led to regular top-three finishes. Further domestic titles have eluded them and they have only once made it beyond Champions League qualifiers, but things are on the up.
Last month Eintracht beat second-placed Wolfsburg 3-1 and victory at home to Union Berlin in Sunday’s final league game would guarantee third place and another shot at reaching the Champions League proper. Progress on and off the pitch was underlined at the start of the year by the appointment as sporting director of Babett Peter, who earned 118 Germany caps and won a World Cup, European Championship and an Olympic gold medal.
“It’s an attractive club that wants to grow, wants to develop the women’s side, which is something I really appreciate,” Peter says. “It was the most convincing argument for me to join the club. The impression so far has been really good. There are things we do really well, things we need to improve, but the reason I’m here is to work on those things.”
Quick GuideArsenal close on free-transfer signing of Géraldine Reutele
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Arsenal are very close to finalising the signing of Géraldine Reuteler on a free transfer, the Guardian understands, after the Switzerland international's exit from Eintracht Frankfurt was announced on Thursday.
The 27-year-old, out of contract this summer, was one of four summer departures confirmed by the German club on Thursday morning, alongside Nicole Anyomi, Nadine Riesen and Elisa Senss.
An attacking midfielder who can also play as a forward, Reuteler has scored 53 goals and provided 45 assists in 183 games for Frankfurt and, this season alone, she has nine goals and eight assists from 34 matches. She was one of the host nation Switzerland's star performers at last summer's European Championship, scoring in a group-stage victory over Iceland.
Arsenal have admired Reuteler for a long time and have tracked her for over a year. Since being permitted to discuss pre-contract terms once she entered the final six months of her existing contract, talks with the English club are understood to have been very positive and to have progressed without any hiccups. Tom Garry
Photograph: Nick Potts/PA Wire
Eintracht have stumbled at the Champions League qualification stage in each of the past two seasons, but this season that led to a run in the inaugural Europa Cup that ended in the semi-finals against the eventual winners, Häcken.
Although qualification for the Champions League’s league phase would achieve one of their goals, Peter is looking at a bigger picture. “The most important part is the process of the team. Last summer we had a big change, a lot of new players, we needed time to find ourselves, and now we are in a way better situation. If you develop those processes, you will see the results.”
One of those key signings was the veteran Swedish defender Amanda Ilestedt, who joined on a three-year deal after leaving the European champions, Arsenal. Ilestedt has played for some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Bayern, where she had a two-year spell from 2019, and was also struck by Eintrachts project.
“I feel like the club is really ambitious in where they want us to be in the coming years,” she says. “I think there is a lot to build on, but also a lot for us to develop. I think it showed in how we played against Wolfsburg. I’ve played against Wolfsburg many times over the years, and I don’t know if I can remember a game where the team I was in was as dominant as we were.”
Ilestedt came to international prominence at the 2023 World Cup, where she scored four goals from centre-back, having signed that summer for Arsenal. Eintracht’s offer was the most attractive when she was ready to leave London.
“This was the first time I wasn’t just thinking about myself, but my family, my fiance, my daughter. Where was the best place for us to be and how could I still play at the highest level while doing that? When I spoke to them for the first time, I really felt this was an interesting place for me as a player. They really wanted to build something, and it’s not just us, other clubs are taking those steps as well.”
Peter says of Eintracht’s vision: “People misunderstand sometimes a sustainable long-term approach, but this club has a clear vision of where it wants to be, to show ourselves on an international stage. We have to be smart with investment. We are a little bit away from Bayern Munich, it’s not plausible to make that jump immediately, but there are other teams in our range. Other teams are developing, but I think we are a little ahead in what we are doing.”
Peter has been able to bring her experiences as a player into the job. Her clubs included Wolfsburg, Real Madrid and 1. FFC Frankfurt.
“It helps in almost every situation, whether dealing with the players, the agents or the coaches, because I’ve been in those positions in my career. For me, it’s: ‘What can we do better for our players? What can we expect of our players?’ I think my experiences do help me. You see things from a different angle to other people. I’ve seen different approaches all over the world too.”
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