There are still question marks about the fitness of ÖFB team striker Marko Arnautovic.
Marko Arnautovic remains a problem child in the ÖFB team. He wasn’t there against the English selection due to an injury. “He’s feeling his way. We hope that he can get in on Friday. But if the Slovakia match doesn’t go well, it’s no drama. We know that he’s one of the few players who does one or two actions Steer the match in the right direction, “said ÖFB sports director Peter Schöttel about the Chinese legionnaire.
Regardless of Arnautovic’s fitness level, one can expect a lot from the ÖFB selection in the upcoming finals, assured the sports director. “We are not among the top favorites, but if everything fits, we can play a very good European Championship,” said Schöttel.
Except for two missions in the November course, in which he succeeded in an assist, the China legionnaire has not been available to the ÖFB team since November 2019. During this period, the goalgetter missed eleven international matches.
Baumgartlinger made a lightning comeback
Despite the 1-0 defeat by England, the friendly on Wednesday in Middlesbrough was a personal success for Julian Baumgartlinger. The 33-year-old made his comeback in the Austrian national soccer team just a little more than four months after a cruciate ligament operation and, according to his own statements, had no complaints whatsoever during his 15-minute assignment. Therefore, the Leverkusen professional feels well prepared for EM operations, although there is still some catching up to do.
“I have to acknowledge that I can’t yet be where the other fit players in the squad are,” said Baumgartlinger on Thursday after arriving in Vienna. “The next step is ideally to play a little more against Slovakia on Sunday. But the coach decides who is in the best form at the moment.”
Mood: “A spirit is emerging right now”
On Marc Janko’s suspicions that there are atmospheric disturbances within the ÖFB convoy, Baumgartlinger said: “It is his right to express his opinion publicly, he played in this team for years. That the mood was not good after the 0: 4 against Denmark is not a big secret. Nevertheless, I see it differently now because we are trying to steer everything in the direction of the EM and I think we are on the right track. “
A “spirit” is emerging like before the – ultimately completely botched – EURO 2016. “The mood is not worse now, it is different,” explained Baumgartlinger.
ÖFB sports director Peter Schöttel can’t do much with mood reports anyway, he prefers to be happy about Baumgartlinger’s quick recovery. “We are all extremely happy that we have the captain with us. Personally, I was surprised that he had already played,” said Schöttel, referring to the incident in Saturday’s training session.
Baumgartlinger is just as ready for action as the last injured Christoph Baumgartner and Konrad Laimer, who each got over an hour of playing time against England. In addition, Karim Onisiwo resumed team training on Thursday after recovering from a bone bruise in his knee.
The captain wants to get started right from the start
The competition in the central midfield is great. Xaver Schlager and Konrad Laimer started against England there, other contenders are Florian Grillitsch, Stefan Ilsanker or theoretically David Alaba. Nevertheless, Baumgartlinger sees himself ready for EURO appearances, also in the starting lineup. “Of course I’ll try to be an option right from the start during the European Championship, maybe even in the first game.”
On the way back to his old strength, the Salzburg native sometimes has to curb himself a little, according to his own statements. “You shouldn’t forget that the rehab process may have been completed in the back of your mind, but my game operations integration is still ongoing.” He shouldn’t get too greedy in order not to risk an injury, said Baumgartlinger with reference to the Saturday training, where there was a small moment of shock on his injured knee.
The cruciate ligament held, however, and so Baumgartlinger came to his 83rd international match against England. The midfielder was satisfied with the performance against the European Championship favorites. “It was a very intense game with many good phases and phases in which we lost the thread, which is normal against an opponent like England. We can definitely build on this match,” said Baumgartlinger.
At least one would have deserved a draw, said the German legionnaire and hoped in this context for less usury of opportunities at the EM. As a positive aspect, Baumgartlinger highlighted, among other things, the strong defense of English standard situations.
That is one of the reasons why Baumgartlinger was looking forward to the future with anticipation. “I have the feeling that the structure could be very good,” said the ÖFB captain, emphasizing the positive atmosphere within the team. “The mood is very good, it seems more entertaining than 2016.”
