Football: Austria vs. Germany

Artist Löw Has Lost his Work of Art, 13 Sept.

by Christian Spiller

[…] Although the German team scored a 2-1 victory against Austria [on 11 Sept.], and gained the pole position in the World Cup ranking, [team coach] Joachim Löw has yet to express concern for his team. Following the European Championships, the test matches against Argentina and the game against the sub-standard Faroe [Islands] are not representative in that respect. The match against Austria, however, was [...] a decisive game. If Löw had looked around after that game, he would have felt a shiver: For the first time since taking charge, it seems his team has stagnated. There is no progress.

 

No Miracle at the Prater, 12 Sept.

by Christian Sprenger

Once again, Christmas has not come early for the Austrian national football team. On the evening of Tuesday 11 Sept., in the sold out Ernst-Happel Stadium (47,000 spectators), the ÖFB [Austrian Football Association] team’s anticipated victory against Germany was not delivered.

Even a draw, which would have meant a secure spot in the World Cup qualifiers, was too much to ask for. The turf in the German penalty area prevented this. The final score: 1-2 (0-1). It was the Austrians’ sixth game of the year, and their first defeat.

However, it was an unnecessary defeat. Just like in August, when Austria played against Turkey, they began the game with the pressure on. Four minutes into the game, the exhuberant Julian Baumgartlinger quickly found a hole in the German defence. He played a perfect pass to Martin Harnik, who stormed towards goalkeeper Manuel Neuer – yet at the last minute, German central defender Mats Hummels prevented Austria from taking the lead.

For the first time in ÖFB history, team coach Marcel Koller began with a line-up of 11 handpicked players. These highly praised sportsmen certainly proved his selection to be justified.