Celebrate until the stadium is empty: For the Austrians, fun and success go hand in hand.
Photo: imago/Andrew Fosker
After an almost aloof detour to the gay and party stronghold of Brighton, they have long been on the ground again – the Austrian footballers, who have set up their EM quarters in Pennyhill Park, almost an hour’s drive west of London. This is where the daily open-air media rounds take place, with the focus now on just one topic: Thursday night’s quarter-finals against Germany. A prestige duel that arouses great anticipation in Austria. ORF1 has already achieved a proud 40 percent market share in previous broadcasts of the European Championship, and now a record quota for a women’s international match is on the horizon.
“Absolutely fantastic. It’s sensational that we’re among the top eight in Europe again. Our players are dying to play against Germany,” explained team boss Irene Fuhrmann after her lively ensemble beat double European champions Norway 1-0 in the last group game with a tactical masterpiece. The “climb”, as they say in the Alpine republic, makes you want more. “We will fight to the end and sacrifice ourselves for our little country,” said winning goalscorer Nicole Billa, looking ahead to the game to come.
The great success was celebrated directly in the Falmer Stadium. The fun squad had dragged a huge jukebox, booming loudly and flashing colorfully, to the home of the Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion – to stage a third half that no bar team at Ballermann could have done better. Only the Austrians managed without a drop of alcohol, there wasn’t even a splash of champagne. After the final whistle, all the players and the entire staff formed a long line to belt out the unofficial national anthem “I am von Austria” by Rainhard Fendrich. »Such an EM only happens once, maybe two or three times in a lifetime. But we have decided to enjoy these moments. Everyone should say afterwards: It was a great time,” explained Billa, the goalscorer at TSG Hoffenheim.
National coach Fuhrmann consistently supports the celebrations: »We have a clear motto for ourselves: We want to see the Euros as an absolute reward. If we were tense, then such a performance could not come out.« The 41-year-old hopes that her players will establish themselves as »role models«, »because we as a national team embody so many positive things.« And with that, the Viennese hopes , one could finally increase the number of female soccer players in Austria.
Already at the EM 2017, the nation had been inspired by an ÖFB selection, whose polonaise through the stadium catacombs only ended in the semifinals. While the celebrations may still look the same as in the Netherlands, the style of play has evolved. “We defended well in 2017, but we only defended there,” says defense chief Carina Wenninger. The squad is broader and has more options on offense. Nevertheless, the defensive remains the showpiece: only conceding two goals in eight European Championship games in 2017 and 2022 speaks for excellent organization and enormous discipline in the game against the ball.
In addition, the fact that 13 players in the German Bundesliga are under contract is certainly not a disadvantage for the encounter with what Fuhrmann says is “superior Germany”. Regulars like Verena Hanshaw, Laura Feiersinger and Barbara Dunst from Eintracht Frankfurt are also raising their game there, as is a former trio from FC Bayern: Like Wenninger, who was loaned out to AS Roma, goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger from Arsenal and captain Viktoria Schnaderbeck from Tottenham are inspired from “playing against half the Bayern team,” as Wenninger revealed.
Professionalism paired with fun is the formula for success, explains captain Schnaderbeck: »We are always professional on the pitch. But other than that, that’s how we are. If you have fun, you will be happy. And then you’ll get better performance.« No question: It will be entertaining when the happiest EM participant challenges the record European champions from Germany.
