Tragic
Cha Bum-kun: financially damaged by his own vice-president.
Eintracht vice-president Wolfgang Zenker lured more than 80 footballers into risky real-estate investments and triggered a financial scandal after the poor 1982/83 season. The affair, as cult author Ulrich Matheja wrote, shook the club to its very foundations.
It began with a seizure order of around 100,000 euros against Frankfurt’s Korean star Bum-kun Cha. Cha had let Zenker sell him two houses and had badly overextended himself. He felt betrayed by his own vice-president, issued an ultimatum, and both Zenker and club president Axel Schander resigned.
Hardly surprising that Cha fled to Leverkusen after the season.
Fred Schaub: Fred Schaub joined Eintracht from SV
Fred Schaub: Fred Schaub joined Eintracht from SV Neuhof in 1976.
Neuhof in 1976. In the 1980 UEFA Cup final against Borussia Mönchengladbach he came on in the 77th minute of the return leg and scored the only goal four minutes later, making SGE UEFA Cup winners. On April 22, 2003, Schaub died in a car accident on the A7 near Fulda. His eight-year-old son Louis, who would later become an Austrian international, survived with injuries.
Tragic — Update 2020–2026
Between 2022 and 2025, Eintracht Frankfurt lost several club legends....
Between 2022 and 2025, Eintracht Frankfurt lost several
Between 2022 and 2025, Eintracht Frankfurt lost several club legends....
club legends.
Jurgen Grabowski, the greatest icon in Eintracht history,
Jurgen Grabowski, the greatest icon in Eintracht history, died on 10 March 2022 at the age of 77.
died on 10 March 2022 at the age of 77. The 1974 World Cup winner had played 15 years for SGE and scored 109 Bundesliga goals.
Bernd Holzenbein, also a 1974 world champion and
Bernd Holzenbein, also a 1974 world champion and the club’s record goalscorer for decades, died in April 2024....
the club’s record goalscorer for decades, died in April 2024.
Both deaths were accompanied by large-scale commemorations a...
Both deaths were accompanied by large-scale commemorations at Deutsche Bank Park.
Both deaths were accompanied by large-scale commemorations at Deutsche Bank Park. For many fans, they marked the emotional end of the true old Eintracht.