David Zimmerhofer's fairy tales in Austria

Somehow it seems to have gone out of fashion to celebrate your own championship title on the football field. Juventus Turin let the corks pop in their training center this year, Leicester City's celebrations in Jamie Vardy's apartment have long since become famous online. And now the Austrian third division club Wattens was not allowed to hold its celebrations on the green grass bed, but in a presentation hall. In the middle of it all, smiling triumphantly and sipping red wine, is David Zimmerhofer, a full-back from Pusteria by trade - and from next season he will be a professional in the second Austrian Bundesliga.

Perfume, champagne and a lovely note A little more than two weeks ago, the Wattens club president Diana Langes-Swarovski presented her new perfume in the Swarovski Crystal Worlds, when the good news arrived early in the evening: second division team Austria Klagenfurt no longer received a license for the upcoming season, Wattens was up for promotion therefore nothing stands in the way. Anyone who expected excessive celebrations was disappointed. “The next day was the last championship game - so we just had a few glasses of wine or champagne,” said David Zimmerhofer, who has been playing for Wattens for two years. One can only speculate about how the championship celebration went after the last game. There is a special reason why Wattens's return to professional business was made clear in such unconventional ways. Although the Innsbruck team became champions in the Regionalliga West with a whopping 18 points lead, they would have had to go into a relegation game with Linz, the champions of the Regionalliga Mitte, in order to secure the last remaining place in the second Austrian Bundesliga. Since second division team Austria Klagenfurt did not receive a valid license to play in the Sky Go First League due to financial problems, both regional league champions were able to celebrate promotion.

Insights into professional life For David Zimmerhofer, this is a little dream come true. After a difficult first year, the Pusterer made his breakthrough in the professional team this year and played his part in winning the title with 25 of 30 possible appearances (including 20 from the start). Zimmerhofer's big goal for the upcoming season in the second highest Austrian league, i.e. a permanent place in the Bundesliga team, is self-defining. “Dave” already got an insight into what life as a professional feels like this year: daily training, comrades with professional experience and high expectations were the order of the day and will probably increase many times over in the next football year. Football takes up a lot of time - so Bui from Puster, who at 20 is one of the youngest players in the team, has to make some compromises when studying economics in Innsbruck. But it's easy to cope with - especially if you're a professional next season.

Thomas Debelyak, SportNews

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David Zimmerhofer's fairy tales in Austria

The young footballer from Bruneck has been playing for WSG Wattens in the Austrian regional league for two years. This season, the 20-year-old and his team achieved a major coup.

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