European Football Championship
Summer fairytale for Austria? “Can you get into a run”
For BVB professional Marcel Sabitzer it is clear: Austria has the quality to beat any opponent. Photo
© Soeren Stache/dpa
In the difficult group with title favorites France and the Netherlands, the Austrians sensationally came out on top. Now the path to something big seems to be clear for the ÖFB eleven.
The Austrians’ group victory party really got going in the team bus. The inevitable “Sweet Caroline” blared from the speakers. The ÖFB players jumped and sang along loudly. “Anyone who knows us Austrians well knows that we work very hard, but we also celebrate very well,” said BVB professional Marcel Sabitzer after the spectacular 3:2 win at the European Football Championship in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium against the Netherlands already announced.
They want to enjoy successes like first place in the difficult group with Oranje and runners-up France, “we do that far too rarely in our football lives anyway, because it always goes on,” said the 30-year-old.
“You can also get into a run”
After one of the biggest successes in the Alpine Republic’s football history, the question arises whether team manager Ralf Rangnick’s selection should be based on the secret rather than the favorite. Sabitzer said it was still too early to talk about an Austrian summer fairytale.
But there is no lack of self-confidence. “Once you are in a knockout system, you can get into a run,” said the Bundesliga professional. Austria has the quality to beat any opponent, “but it will be a very difficult path.”
With the surprising group victory, the team is on the supposedly easier side of the tournament tree. In the round of 16 in Leipzig on July 2nd, they will face Turkey, the Czech Republic or Georgia. In the round of the last eight, Belgium could be waiting in Berlin again. The distances from the team’s headquarters in the capital’s Grunewald forest to both games would be short.
The squad width is larger than expected
Against the Dutch, Rangnick was even able to leave key players Christoph Baumgartner and Konrad Laimer, who had already received yellow cards, on the bench. Despite this, the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) players “started the game extremely well”, as they did against Poland, as the coach said.
The squad of twelve Bundesliga professionals has depth. “The game brought us to the realization that the breadth of our squad is a bit bigger than everyone thought, including myself,” said the 65-year-old.
Even though there was a somewhat bumpy phase, the ÖFB team showed a very mature performance for large parts of the game. “What impressed me most today was my team’s reaction to the equalizers,” said Rangnick. The team cannot be reduced to pressing and transition football. When in possession of the ball, the Austrians repeatedly found good solutions.
Sabitzer has regained his strength
The central figure was Sabitzer. In the party video from the bus, he stayed in the background, but a few hours earlier he had been omnipresent on the pitch at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. “I’m doing my best to get to the yards,” said Sabitzer, who was voted player of the match, with a laugh.
The 30-year-old was tireless and the driving force behind many offensive actions. He crowned his performance with the technically demanding winning goal from a tight angle. After the great disappointment of losing the Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund, the midfielder needed a short mental break before the tournament. “I’ve had ups and downs in the last few months, where a lot has happened,” admitted the ÖFB substitute captain.
The 0-2 defeat against Real Madrid was a “negative experience,” “but I’ve regained my strength,” explained Sabitzer. The team gives him support. “That means I can play freely.”
Better reception in Leipzig
In the round of 16, the former RB professional will now be taking a trip into Leipzig’s past, just like Rangnick and Laimer. The 30-year-old is hoping for a better reception than last time, when he was booed for his departure. “But now there will certainly be a lot of Austrians there, which will definitely turn out more positively for me,” he said.
Maybe the next party on the bus will follow. Sabitzer himself particularly appreciates two Austro-pop classics by Rainhard Fendrich. “If I had to rank them, I would say ‘I am from Austria’ and ‘Strada del Sole’.”