For the Stuttgart striker, the result did not reflect the true balance of power. “We were better than the result shows, and we deserved at least one penalty shootout.” Nevertheless, the tournament “was very memorable,” emphasized the scorer of the ÖFB goal against the Italians. The performances in the group stage were “perhaps not outstanding”, said Kalajdzic. “But we still got the points we needed.”
The attacker described the performance against Italy as “a historic day for Austrian football, but not as we wanted it to be”. Kalajdzic couldn’t really celebrate his spectacular goal, which broke Italy’s goal ban after 1,169 minutes. “Maybe a nice goal for memories, but it hurts more than I can be happy about.”
Highlights of Italy – Austria
For Austria, the last sixteen of the European Championship is the end of the line. In extra time, the ÖFB team Italy had to admit defeat 2-1.
“Have shown it all over Europe”
The two-meter striker was more pleased with the team spirit within the ÖFB squad. “We are a team that came together even more in the tournament. We have always believed in ourselves and the games have shown that we belong here. ”Kalajdzic said they were extremely positive at the European Championship. “We have shown all of Europe that we are really good footballers, that there are not only skiers in Austria, but also really good footballers.”
Marko Arnautovic also drew an ambivalent conclusion. “The bottom line is that we can be satisfied. But I am not satisfied. I wanted to get to the quarter-finals too, I think we all wanted that. If you see everyone’s faces, you can see that no one is satisfied that we are going home now, ”said the China legionnaire.
Team spirit welds players together
David Alaba agreed. “In the end we weren’t rewarded for this performance, this entire finals. It is very bitter. If you watch the game today, it hurts a lot, “said the future Real Madrid player, but also added:” We can be proud of ourselves, Austria can be proud of us. “
Goalie Daniel Bachmann also emphasized that they had “made a whole country proud”. In addition, the Watford player referred to the extremely positive team spirit. “We grew together incredibly off the pitch. Apart from the sporting achievements, that was the best thing in the last few weeks, ”said the Lower Austrian.
