Around half past twelve in the evening, Johann Strauss would have had fun in the Ernst Happel Stadium. With his exclamation “Everything is a waltz!” the composer shaped an elementary Austrian cultural heritage in the 19th century. In Vienna, festivals have always been celebrated as they fall. Preferably in the ball season, which has just begun, in fine clothing and in three-quarter time. If necessary, also in the Ernst Happel Stadium, where voices could be heard outside and inside: “Oh, how beautiful that is,” in four-four time, sometimes more bellowed than sung; or in the cabin a classic by Rainhard Fendrich, one of the many Austro-pop successors of the Strauss school of thought in partying.
The text of “Strada del Sole” sat well with the majority of this generation of Austrian players, who are actually too young for Austro-pop, but have long since recognized the modern potential of the classics: Fendrich and colleagues provide the soundtrack for the shared journey on the sunny Road to the European Championships, which the Austrian national team is currently on.
The trips to the national team currently seem like a class reunion for the Austrians. We watch videos together, organize team evenings, sing, and in between coach Ralf Rangnick and his team hold seminars on team behavior on the football field. The origin of the success, as everyone involved agreed after the historically safe 2-0 home win over their big neighbors from Germany, lies mainly outside the pitch.
“I believe that we have an incredible spirit,” said Christoph Baumgartner: “Everyone is extremely happy when we get together. And when we play together, you can see it.” Baumgartner, 24, who scored the goal with a “Schupferl” (lob) against Kevin Trapp on Tuesday evening, is one of the central protagonists of this self-confident ÖFB team, which plays football with great joy and at the same time a lot of discipline. The Austrians don’t play destructive defensive football, as they did under Franco Foda, but they also don’t play a naive ultra-pressing style, as some feared when Rangnick took over as coach. They play with each other, but above all for each other.
“We have a clear plan that we have to implement and that we are following,” said Marcel Sabitzer. The goalscorer for the 1-0 win has already experienced several ups and downs in his national team career, and he knows about the side effects and risks of such significant victories against Germany: “We had extreme euphoria once before, in 2016, and we were completely screwed back then. “
Ralf Rangnick seems to be the right coach in the right place
Unlike at that time under Marcel Koller, success is based on a better foundation. David Alaba, for example, who was still trying to figure out his role as a talent at the time, is now a hardened, intelligent defender and opener, the clear leader of this team. Marko Arnautovic celebrated the victory against Germany euphorically on the bench, even though he didn’t play a minute – unimaginable a few years ago. “They play like friends and they behave like friends,” said Rangnick, the bandmaster of this friendly football group, who currently seems to be the right man in the right place.
On the one hand, his contribution is a solid, quite unspectacular, tactical corset, which is, however, enough to defeat teams looking for their own style of play – like the Germans. Rangnick knows that he has a good Bundesliga squad at his disposal, but they will also have to make do without sensational wingers and full-backs. But he finds solutions within these limitations: “I love my team the way it is,” said Rangnick, who emancipated himself from club coaching within 18 months and no longer struggles with what doesn’t work.
Open detailed view
Have you heard? The Austrian footballers are not only in a good mood under coach Ralf Rangnick, but they are also playing successful football.
(Foto: Imago/ActionPictures)
Curiously, the atmosphere in Austria is somewhat reminiscent of that of the German national team – a little more than ten years ago. The early Joachim Löw was a master at creating comfort zones for players like Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski who were having problems at the club. Rangnick is now able to do the same, who was able to rely on Nicolas Seiwald in midfield against the DFB team, who is rarely used at Leipzig; on Baumgartner, who also had teething problems in the Bundesliga, or on Michael Gregoritsch, who hasn’t yet scored a goal at SC Freiburg but scored an excellent nine against Germany.
And last but not least, Sabitzer, who summed up the feeling. With a proud voice he talked about the national team, saying that he had self-confidence not only on the pitch, but also when singing Fendrich in the dressing room: “Emotionality, mentality, those are not an issue for us.” Only once did he lower his head a little, it was about his departure from Vienna, the coming weekend and the question of whether he would bring some of the joyful all-waltz atmosphere from the Happel Stadium to his German colleagues there – or at least one a few humorous sayings: “We’ll have so many topics in Dortmund starting tomorrow, there’s no time for something like that.”
