Italy against the Bundesliga

By Sigi Heinrich

Longing has a fatal quality. It can almost drive you to despair. If your dreams turn into concrete hard landings over and over again, you can lose faith in justice. The Austrians, for example, always wanted to be able to play football really well.

As good as they are at skiing, where they see themselves as number one in the world, even if the Swiss have snatched the national championship from under their noses for two years now. But that can be corrected. Given their potential, which also includes the mountains and the many lift operators who are sympathetic to the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV), they can't be worse than second. Wherever there is weaving, the tracks in the snow glow red-white-red. As easy as skiing is, the situation in football is just as tragic. Always Cordoba Only once in the last few centuries was there great rejoicing and the event of June 21, 1978 is still celebrated in Austria as if the Blessed Mother Mary had performed another miracle. “I'm getting crazy, Krankl shoots one, three to two.” Then a short pause. A very short break. “For Austria.” Against Germany, the reigning world champions at the time. Edi Finger Senior, the ORF radio reporter, became famous.

Krankl, Sara, Prohaska, Koncilia, Pezzey were some of the players. Prohaska is still an expert at ORF, even without his famous curls, which have given way to a strong parting. It was the only defeat by a German team in an official game against Austria. Herbert Prohaska: Former Deutschland-Schreck and ÖFB team boss (here with Toni Polster). He is now a TV expert. © APA

That hurt German football. Logical. Every defeat hurts. But the Piefkes, as German vacationers in Austria are so charmingly called, showed from then on how it works by pushing the ball back and forth. They became world champions and European champions and Austria was throwing snowballs around again. But now true greatness was revealed.

Germany could no longer watch as Cordoba gradually became a dusty myth, as an entire country kept its head above water because of a game. And so the borders were opened and the Austrian footballers gradually trickled into the German Bundesliga, where now, 43 years after Cordoba, it can be said: the training goal has been achieved. Austria's kickers have become socially acceptable and have reached the round of XNUMX for the first time in the history of the European Championships. More Bundesliga players than the DFB team Of the 26 players appointed by coach Franco Foda (who has Italian roots), 22 play in the German Bundesliga. Only at the back is a keeper, Daniel Bachmann, who plays in the Premier League in England for FC Watford (owned by the Italian Pozzi family of entrepreneurs) and at the very front is the enfant-terrible Marco Arnautovic, who earns his living in Shanghai, but also worked in the Bundesliga. The rest are professionals who are regular players in their clubs in Germany. The German Franco Foda with Germany legionnaire Martin Hinteregger. © APA/ROBERT JAEGER / ROBERT JAEGER

The ÖSV team played probably their best game in recent years against Ukraine. Maybe even in the last 43 years (after Cordoba, of course). It was, one might say, a feast for the eyes to see how modern Austrian football has become and how tactically flexible Franco Foda can react when he met the best of his team, David Alaba, who will play for Real Madrid in the future , there was a more offensive orientation. The match against Ukraine was fun and left us hungry for more. In any case, Italy, their opponents in the round of XNUMX, who have been absolutely convincing so far, should be warned. <a data-caption="Tormann Dragovic spielt für Watford, Dragovic wechselt von Leverkusen zu Roter Stern und Alaba verteidigt künftig für Real Madrid. © APA/afp / MARKO DJURICA" data-fancybox="inline-78457" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2021/06/tormann-dragovic-spielt-fuer-watford-dragovic-wechselt-von-leverkusen-zu-roter-stern-und-alaba-verteidigt-kuenftig-fuer-real-madrid.jpg"> Goalkeeper Dragovic plays for Watford, Dragovic is moving from Leverkusen to Red Star and Alaba will defend for Real Madrid in the future. © APA/afp / MARKO DJURICA

The Austrian footballers can no longer just handle the ball sensitively, switch quickly and play great passes: they also fight like the German footballers have often demonstrated. The slacker was driven out of them in Germany. Now 90 minutes at high speed are possible. You can now become a fan of Austrian football with a clear conscience. It just doesn't work in the league between Salzburg and Vienna. Nor can it, because those who can kick have long since had their main residence in Germany.

But who knows, maybe London will become a second Cordoba for Austria. And maybe the Austrian legionnaires will also get a little pinch of the Germany duel, which helped the DFB team to stay in the competition yesterday. Then every Austrian football longing would be finally satisfied.

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Italy against the Bundesliga

On Saturday, Austria will face Italy in the European Championship round of 16. Will the Alpine republic create a second Cordoba? SportNews columnist Sigi Heinrich has thought about it.

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