CZEAUTSVKPOL #5: Austria Wien

 Long-time readers (or someone that just so happened to read my second blog about MŠK Žilina) will be aware that despite visiting MŠK Žilina’s stadium, I didn’t actually see them play. Well this week’s blog will be working in a similar vein, only this time it’s a trip to Austria Wien’s ground to watch *checks notes* Qatar v Chile? Okay then…

 

I’ve attended some random fixtures over the years (a goalless draw between United Koreans of Japan v Kabylie at Bracknell Town in June springs to mind), but this fixture would take its rightful place amongst the strangest. From Tring Athletic at the start of the month to watching the World Cup hosts (booo! etc) in Vienna at the end, life moves fast these days.

 

The Road to Qatar (Austria Wien)

I’m writing this on the Wednesday after the game, which is thankfully a national holiday in Czech Republic. This played a huge part in the decision to attend, as getting back late wouldn’t be too big an obstacle.

 

We picked up a return on RegioJet for around 20 Euros, taking the hour and a half train down to Vienna and the 2 hour bus on the way back, which would get us back around midnight. On reaching Vienna, we took the short trip on the U-Bahn (where masks are still required) toward Altes Landgut. The ground is likely to be the first thing you see, and it certainly looks impressive in the Viennese twilight.

There weren’t too many bars or pubs to sink some beers before the match, but we found a reasonable café nearby to have some strangely bitter Austrian beer. The waitress also spoke Czech, which was an odd comfort that allowed me to practise some of my (limited) conversational skills.

There are also plenty of restaurants, even fast-food if you’re pressed for time as we had been. During an Austria Wien game, I imagine you’d be better off drinking nearer the Hauptbanhof before hopping on the U-Bahn (it’s barely 10 minutes).

 

As for the stadium, it’s rather impressive. The curved floodlights from the outside look fantastic, and the fact the stadium is entirely purple gives it something truly unique. I’d have to check, but it might be the first purple stadium I’ve ever visited. It may not be unique in many other ways, but it certainly has an Austrian charm about it.

Before the game

Though I write this after the game, I hadn’t expected a great deal in terms of entertainment. My prediction probably would have been a 1-0 “away win”. As far as I could tell, Qatar were the so-called “home team”, though the abundance of Chile fans in the only open stand seemed to say otherwise.

 

After the game

The game was to continue my impressive run of goalfests in September, finishing 2-2. In truth, Qatar were the better side, putting their counter attacking pace to good use. Chile were a little lethargic and slow, though with three of their key players now well into their thirties (Vidal, Sanchez and Medel), it perhaps isn’t surprising. That said, Sanchez and Vidal clearly still have that spark to make things happen.

 

Sanchez opened the scoring before the break, though Qatar hit back after half-time through Akram Afif. Hassan Al Haydos turned the game on its head with an absolute wonder strike off the post, before Arturo Vidal’s equaliser, assisted by none other than substitute Ben Brereton Diaz.

 

Who are ya?

Okay, so as mentioned, I haven’t seen Austria Wien play, but heading to Viola Park (also known as Generali Arena or Franz Horr Park), it seems the perfect opportunity to provide a nice potted history of a household name in Austrian football. While I’m sure I’ll be back for an Austria Wien game, that may be later down the line.

 

While this was a whistle stop tour, you can still see a great deal of history around the ground on a flying visit. Die Veilchen (the Violets) were formed in 1911, and have won the most trophies of any Austrian top flight club (24 Bundesligas and 27 Austrian Cups). That said, Rapid Wien hold the most league titles with 32. Both sides are also the only teams never to have been relegated from the top flight.

 

The club won their first and second titles as SV Amateure in 1924 and 1926 respectively, though their next title success would come in 1949. The annexation of Austria in 1938 caused considerable disruption to the club, with Austria Wien seen as the Judenklub – a label also given to the likes of Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and even non-German/Austrian clubs like Tottenham Hotspur or Ajax.

 

They would claim their fourth title in 1950, though their city rivals Rapid already had four times as many by then. Even Wacker Wien, Admira Wien and First Vienna had more. In any case, Vienna was the dominant city of Austrian football.

 

The disparity grew further between Rapid and Austria, with their city rivals winning another five titles to Austria’s one. They had some catching up to do, but three successive league titles from 1960-63 did no harm. Another couple of titles came in 1969 and 1970, though the late 1970s brought the beginnings of a dominant era, with the club winning seven league titles from 1977 to 1987.

 

The 1990s saw another three-in-a-row success from 1990 to 1993, though the next decade saw a more varied assortment of winners beyond Vienna – namely Austria Salzburg, Sturm Graz, Tirol Innsbruck, and of course Rapid Wien were still a title-winning force. 2003 would be the next success, followed by 2006 and 2013, though the latter marks the last time any club other than Red Bull Salzburg has won the Austrian Bundesliga.

 

With regard to European football, the club have had a few decent stabs at the Cup Winners’ Cup, the European Cup, and the UEFA Cup. They reached the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1978, losing 4-0 to Anderlecht. 1983 also saw an impressive run to the semis, where they saw off Barcelona, but couldn’t do the same to their arch rivals Real Madrid.

 

Their best run prior to the introduction of the group stages, however, happened in 1979. Austria Wien managed to get to the semis of the European Cup, where a narrow defeat to Malmo stopped them from facing eventual winners Nottingham Forest in the final.

 

Moving onto the 21^st Century, Austria Wien managed to get to the UEFA Cup Quarter Finals, cruelly losing to Parma on away goals in 2005. Since then, the club have often competed in at least one European Competition, though never have they navigated the group stage successfully. As they play in the Europa Conference League group stages for the first time ever, that could certainly change.