Once known as top skiers, now excellent football players... Although Austria had great success in the world championships in the years after the Second World War, the real football things for this Alpine country somehow started in the last ten years.
"Das Team" is no longer an outsider but one of the strongest teams in Europe, with players in the strongest clubs of the Old Continent, so Austria is seen by many as potentially one of the better stories at Euro 2024.
Apart from the great players, maybe mostly because of the gentleman next to the field...
Austria before Bayern
His name is Ralph Rangnick, the German who turned down the invitation of the great Bayern to lead Austria in his own country.
The coach, who in his homeland is said to be the initiator of modern German football, after Manchester United did not have much feeling for him, took over the neighboring national team and immediately started doing great things
First, he defeated Croatia 3:0 in the League of Nations, to reach the European Championship through a group in which Austria's rivals were Belgium, Sweden, Azerbaijan and Estonia.
The data that at the end "Das Team" had only one point less than the powerful Belgium, that the only defeat was against the same selection (3:2 in Vienna, after 1:1 in Brussels) best speaks of the influence of experts from Baden-Württemberg.
When he arrived, he promised results and the return of fans with beautiful and attacking football - so far he has succeeded in both.
How without the first star?
And while Rangnik is a big plus of this national team, the absence of the first star of Austria and the captain is definitely a minus David Alaba. The Real player tore his knee ligaments in mid-December and it was already clear then that he would not be able to recover by the time of the European Championship.
However, the German coach knows very well how important Alaba's presence is for the national team, so he will take him to the Euro as a member of the coaching staff.
- It is a great pity that he will not be able to play, but I had many close conversations with him and he emphasized to me that he really wants to be with us. Now it's here and I'm really happy about it - explained Rangnik.
When there is no Alaba, Austria's main asset in defense will be Stefan Poš, the guy who shined in the Bologna shirt this season and won the Champions League with the team from "Dal'Area".
Rangnik will have a nice selection in all positions, but the biggest strength lies in his midfield, where there are well-known names from the German Bundesliga such as Marcel Zabicer (Borussia Dortmund), Konrad Leimer (Bayern), Florian Grilič (Hoffenheim), Roman Šmid (Werder) and tandem from Leipzig - Christoph Baumgartner i Nikolas Zajvald...
The attack is translated by the experienced Marko Arnautović, Mihael Gregorič i Andreas Weimann.
Three Euros, one knockout stage
Austria is a relatively new name at the European championships, having made its first appearance in 2008 when it hosted together with Switzerland.
Then she failed to pass the group, just like when she appeared the next time at Euro - 2016.
So far, the biggest success is the last championship, which was played in 2021 due to the corona, when this national team finally skipped the first stage, and then succumbed to the future European champion, Italy, only in extra time.
Austria and the Euro
It performs so far: 3
The greatest success: Round of 2020 XNUMX.
The last Euro: EP 2020, round of XNUMX
Most performances on the EP: Alaba, Zabicer and Hintereger (7)
Most goals in the EP: Seven players one at a time
Captain: Marko Arnautović
The first star: Marcel Zabicer
Matches at the EP: France (June 17, Dusseldorf), Poland (June 21, Berlin), Netherlands (June 25, Berlin).
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