IF WE CAN KO BARCA WE CAN BEAT GERS
JENS PETTER HAUGE insists his Frankfurt pals have felt fearless since dumping Barcelona out of Europe as he claimed the German shock troops won’t feel the heat in Seville.
Eintracht are currently on an impressive 12-game unbeaten run that has seen them ease past the Nou Camp giants, their La Liga rivals Real Betis, West Ham, Royal Antwerp, Olympiacos and Fenerbahce on the way to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium finale.
Norwegian winger Hauge revealed the whole camp is buzzing ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Rangers, with their confidence sky-high after claiming so many top scalps.
And despite an expected 100,000 Gers fans set to descend on the Spanish city, Hauge reckons Frankfurt will not be shaken.
He said: “Beating Barcelona gives you a lot of confidence, as a player, as a team and a group. It shows you can beat one of the best teams in the world.
“When we started this European campaign we knew we had a strong team who could go all the way. We just kept building that confidence and that’s been important.
“It will be a great night and for sure we will play our best football.”
Eintracht beat the Hammers home and away in the semifinal and the 22-year-old thinks that will help prepare them for Rangers.
Hauge said: “West Ham were a really physical and strong team, so the final might be a bit similar.
“West Ham have a lot of quality players but Rangers are a strong team, I’ve watched them quite a lot – the derby with Celtic is always fun to watch. They are like us, they run and fight for each other.”
Hauge has been watching Gers since Steven Gerrard put the Govan club back on the European map.
He looked on admiringly as the former Liverpool star gradually rebuilt the Light Blues and turned them into something of a force again.
He said: “Gerrard was building a great team and I’m not surprised they have reached the final. They have played really well in Europe and last season they won the Scottish league.
“They are a strong team with a lot of qualities but we will be prepared for them.”
Having seen other big-name German rivals Borussia Dortmund and Red Bull Leipzig come unstuck against the Light Blues already this campaign, Hauge has insisted they will get total respect.
Asked if German football fans were surprised by those upsets, he answered: “I think so. Dortmund and Leipzig are super teams and so strong.
“They are teams with a lot of quality players but Rangers used the strengths they have to beat them. We know we will need to perform well.”
While swarms of fans from
Glasgow and across Scotland are set to descend on Andulsia, there will also be plenty of travellers from Germany, with 70,000 set to back the ‘Eagles’
Hauge insisted: “They give us a lot of belief and really believe in us. They support us in big numbers home and away and for me and the rest of my teammates it means so much.
“They give us confidence and we want to give something back to them because they deserve more than we have given them in the Bundesliga this season.”
Eintracht signed off their domestic campaign with a 2-2 derby draw at Mainz with Colombian striker Rafael Borre the hero with a goal and an assist in the MEWA Arena.
On-loan AC Milan star Hauge said: “Raf’s been in amazing form in the last few weeks. “t was a good game for him and he will be going into the final with confidence.”
I’ve watched them quite a lot – the derby with Celtic is always fun. They’re like us, they run and fight JANS PETTER HAUGE ON KEEPING AN EYE ON RANGERS FOR HIS EINTRACHT FRANKFURT TEAM-MATES