Ranked lowest amongst the teams participating in Euro 2008, Austria will be eager to show off all their potential.
Group B is characterized by the presence of favourites Germany which will be tipped by many to top the list here. However, the other powerhouse Croatia might have other plans for the group whilst Austria will be planning to bank on home advantage. Poland will be the black horse here as they have the potential to surprise any of the other three teams.
Austria
Considered by pundits the weakest team at the tournament, Austria will be overly keen to prove their worth next June when the Euro 2008 kicks off in their home land. Had they not been seeded Austria would probably never have been present in this competition. Sustaining a whole qualification campaign on medium-high levels is by itself a very difficult task for any team trying to break into the Europe’s elite football teams let alone having to try and do this with a group of players who have little international experience under their belts. Unlike fellow co-hosts Switzerland, most of Austria’s national team players play football in their own domestic league. This definitely works against them.
Ask Scotland for directions here, which having twice beaten 2006 World Cup finalists France in their group, still did not make it through with 24 points and the best ever qualification result for the country. Many would therefore contend that Austria should be satisfied with simply featuring in the final stages of Euro 2008 and just seek to bow out of the group phase with dignity. Yet the host nation’s plans seem to veer otherwise.
The Manager – Josef Hickersberger
Having already traced the course for a memorable 1990 World Cup qualification Josef Hickersberger will be relying on the vast experience gathered throughout all these years in coaching jobs landed at both his home land and the Middle East. Despite not in the thick of the international football scene as a manager, he lived through great moments with Austria as a player in his youth featuring in the World Cup back then as well.
Although only a six year old kid at the time, Hickersberger still recalls the historic third place finish achieved by the Austrian national team at the 1954 World Cup. On the back of such distant memories he will be plotting plans of conquest at Euro 2008.
The Squad
The team at Hicersberger’s disposal is, however, not the same as that of important wins in major tournaments years ago. Nonetheless young team captain Andreas Ivanschitz is a firm believer in the fact that pressure derived from being the host nation will push them towards great things at Euro 2008.
Despite his young age Hickersberger did not hesitate at handing him the captain’s armband when he was just 19 due to great charisma and leadership qualities. He is one of the supporting pillars of Austria together with Manninger, Garics and Pogatetz who play in competitive European leagues.
Prediction
Friendly results have helped emphasize the resilient nature of Austria. They have sought to play strong teams in order to prepare themselves well for Euro 2008 and the results seem to be showing promise. Nonetheless there was a clear indication that the problem with the team are sudden bouts of amnesia which make it extremely easy for opponents to have their say over Austria. They concede a series of goals within a few minutes and compromise an otherwise incredible performance.
Should Hickersberger find a solution to this recurring problem and to another mainstay headache related to unproductive attackers, Austria might manage to go through their tough group despite being the underdogs. I think it all depends on how they tackle the first two games they have scheduled. Four points from these encounters with Croatia and Poland on the 8th and 12th of June respectively might be enough to win them a place with the last eight teams at Euro 2008. Going further than that might be a little too much for them.
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