46.3 kilometres and the state border are all that separates the homes of Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FSV Mainz 05. On Wednesday, it is the Zerofivers of Mainz who will make the short journey to Frankfurt’s Commerzbank-Arena for the DFB Pokal quarterfinal, the 28th Rhein-Main Derby: a clash of two clubs from bordering states, sharing a fierce, albeit relatively young rivalry.
The rivalry was born on the 26th October 1986, when the two sides met for their first competitive encounter at Mainz’s Bruchweg Stadion in the second round of the DFB Pokal. Back then, Mainz still played in the South West Oberliga, making Bundesliga side Frankfurt the clear favourites. With the likes of Manfred Binz, Thomas Berthold and club legend Karl-Heinz “Charly” Körbel in their ranks, Eintracht made hard work of beating their new local rivals, eventually winning the game 1-0 in extra time.
22 years later, Niko Kovac is expecting another fierce battle: "Mainz are a tough opponent, it will be hard work," said the Eintracht head coach. Mainz’s sporting director gave his initial thoughts on the tie after the draw: "Eintracht are at home for Wednesday’s clash, tilting the odds ever-so-slightly in their favour. Anything can happen – reaching the semis is our one and only aim!"
Away wins are the exception
Mainz’s ascent into professional football was only to begin in 1988 – the sides have since met 27 times, eight times in the 2. Bundesliga, 19 times in the Bundesliga. Despite the overall head-to-head between the two sides being very much in the balance with eight Frankfurt wins to Mainz’s seven, plus 13 draws, one stat stands out above all: away victories in this tie are a rarity.
The aforementioned second round cup tie in 1986, the sides’ first encounter, remains Frankfurt’s only ever win behind enemy lines, while Mainz, too, have only once tasted victory in Frankfurt.
Both sides on the back of defeats
Not a good omen for the Mainz camp then, despite Frankfurt’s seven-game unbeaten run coming to an end on Sunday when they lost 3-0 in Augsburg. Mainz’s 2-0 defeat to Bayern München was their fourth defeat in the last eight games.
A comparison of the clubs’ respective cup records speaks in favour of Frankfurt as well. Eintracht have won the DFB Pokal four times, their last triumph dating back to 1988 after a 1-0 win against Bochum in the final. Since then, they have reached two finals: in 2006 they lost to Bayern München by a single goal, last year, they were beaten 2-1 by Dortmund. This puts them joint fourth with BVB, Köln and Nuremberg in the all-time DFB Pokal winners chart. Mainz, on the other hand, have only managed to reach the semi-finals once: in 2009, they were knocked out of the last four by Bayer Leverkusen.
