A trip to Die Grün-Weißen: SK Rapid v Rheindorf Altach

Rapid Vienna v Rheindorf Altach in the Austrian Bundesliga

 Last season, to my annoyance, I never got around to watching a game in Austria. Despite it being the closest border to Brno, along with Slovakia, for whatever reason it never happened. I'd planned trips to the likes of Rapid Wien, Grazer AK, and Blau-Weiss Linz,  but other plans took precedence, or illness struck at the wrong time. 

The focus for this season is still on completing the Czech First League, which I should manage fairly easily, as well as the Slovak First League. If all goes well, I should be able to tick two of the ballachingly eastern stadia off in Tatran Presov and Kosice next week. Zemplin Michalovce, which is the furthest away, will hopefully be the only one I have left before the league splits in March.

Going back to Austria though, and it's a place I've barely wathed a match in despite living two hours from Vienna for the last three years. All three matches have of course happened in Vienna, with the first being a fifth tier game between 1980 Wien and Hellas Kagran, which was a highly entertaining 3-2 home win. I'd be lying if I said I remembered a great deal of it, but that's because it was over three years ago.

The second game was an odd one back in October 2022 - an international friendly between Qatar and Chile at Austria Wien's stadium, where I learned that Austrian beer isn't that great, and actually had my longest conversation in Czech since arriving into the Czech Republic a month before with a waitress at a bar near the ground. Go figure. I do plan to return to Austria Wien for an actual game involving said team in October...

The third and, to date, last time I watched a game in Austria was at the brilliant First Vienna in March 2023, where I made a long weekend of it involving Petrzalka, Spartak Trnava, and Slovan Bratislava too. Again, my time in Vienna was sadly all too brief to accomodate this though. 

This trip to Rapid will only encompass a day trip, but even so, it's exciting to have the chance to explore another part of Vienna, having visited the city many times now, but barely having scratched its wonderful surface. Today, they play host to Rheindorf Altach, who've started the season perfectly, albeit only after two games - a 2-0 win at cup winners Wolfsberger, and a 1-0 win at home to newly promoted Ried.

Rapid, meanwhile, have had Europe to contend with, following their recent heroics at Tannadice on Thursday. While it may have been touch and go as to whether they'd make it through, it's only Győri ETO that stand between them and Europa Conference League qualification. Incidentally, it's their closest away day of the season apart from Austria Wien, assuming it's not moved to Budapest as rumoured - go figure.

In terms of history, these two sides have met on many occasions, with more recent history certainly favouring the hosts. Altach haven't scored against Rapid since a 2-1 win in 2021, let alone beaten their Viennese counterparts. 

Rapid Wien 0-0 Rheindorf Altach

And the wait for a goal against their Vienna opponents goes on following a 0-0 that was actually more entertaining than the scoreline suggests. Both teams had good chances to take the lead, with Rapid probably enjoying the better chances - including a last gasp penalty from Ercan Kara which was well saved by Rheindorf 'keeper Dejan Stojanovic.

This particular game should happen to fall on a Sunday, allowing me the opportunity to take in Zbrojovka's home fixture against Prostějov. If not for the expensiveness of flights back home over this weekend, I probably would have flown back to watch Stevenage trimphantly ascend to the summit of League One with their 2-0 win over Northampton, and yes, I know it's only been three games. 

All said and done, I was content that I could catch a game on Sunday without missing Zbrojovka, even if it was a frustrating 2-1 home loss to a side that had only won once beforehand. All that said, Prostějov are Zbrojovka's bogey team, with all five of the last five meetings now having finished in a win for them. They were proper bastards to play against - think Dyche's Burnley on steroids.

Anyway, I took an early train to Vienna in the hopes of seeing a few sights before the game, as well as meeting up with American fellow groundhopper, Alex, who was coming in from Bratislava. Annoyingly, I'd bought a ticket for the lower price, without realising the fee was only applicable with a child. I was hoping I'd be able to change it up and pay the additional funds needed. In actual fact, they didn't even check, which was a nice bonus.

Even so, forty euro is incredibly steep for any level of football, especially compared to Czech or Slovak football, where you'd be hard pressed to find a ground where you'll pay more than ten euros. Perhaps this is why I've been subconsciously avoiding Austrian football - the sheer expense from the ticket alone, as well as the fact you could easily spend too much in Vienna just by existing within the city limits! 

All said and done, there wasn't much to report on with regard to the game, though the atmopshere with some almost 20,000 Rapid fans was magnificent. Make no mistake, they are a massive institution, with the green wall of ultras supremely impressive throughout. The noise from that part of the stadium simply didn't stop, even after the penalty miss, and even after a game which would have been disappointing for them.

That said, Alex posed the question after the game - what is the aim for the two Vienna clubs with Sturm Graz and Salzburg dominating the league over the last decade? Surely it's to topple this big two and re-stamp the capital's authority on the league, via their club of course. Sturm Graz have provided the blueprint; the question is, will either of them follow it?

Credit must also go to Rheindorf Altach for, at times, looking the more likely to score and bring three points back on their long journey home. The dozen or so fans taking the trip from Altach would have had to travel through Germany in order to get to Vienna, which makes you realise just how long Austria is as a country, and how mountainous a terrain it must be.

The game finished around 7, and getting back to the main station was surprisingly quick and easy, with no overcrowding on the public transport system. I waited for the 8.45 bus back to Brno at the most inconvenient and useless bus station I've been to - no signage or announcements on which buses will be where: sort it out, Vienna!

In any case, rather than end on a down note, I'll end by talking up the virtues of Austrian football. Expensive it may be compared to the leagues in the surrounding countries, it's well worth making a weekend of it. While Vienna isn't one of my favourite cities, it's still well worth visiting.

Five things you didn't know about SK Rapid

1. Rapid hold the record for most Austrian Championship titles with 32, managing to win the very first one in 1912. They've also won the Austrian Cup on 14 occasions, though perhaps unbelievably, they haven't won a trophy since 2008. Furthermore, their neighbours in violet, Austria Wien, won the league as recently as 2013. In any case, Salzburg's dominance and the recent emergence of Sturm Graz as a force has left some dusty trophy cabinets in the Austrian capital over the last decade.

2. The club were founded in 1899, having started in 1897 under the name Erster Wiener Arbeiter-Fußball-Club. The name was changed in 1899 to its current moniker, Sportklub Rapid. Perhaps one thing people aren't aware of with regard to the club is that there is no mention of Wien or Vienna in the club's official name.

3. One thing Rapid fans are renowned for is the Rapid Viertelstunde, which has been a tradition since 1913. In the last fifteen minutes, regardless of the score, Rapid fans engage in rhythmic clapping to let the players know they're still very much with them. 

4. Gerhard Hannappi, whom the stadium is named after, is often regarded as one of the greatest Austrian footballers of all time. He won several league titles with Rapid, and became an architect after his retirement from the beautiful game. He helped plan the stadium before his untimely death aged 51.

5. The fixture between Austria and Rapid is the most played derby in all of Europe, right after the Old Firm derby of Scotland. They've met a whopping 346 times, with Rapid winning 140, Austria winning 123, and 83 games finishing level. Rapid's 9-0 success in 1915 remains the biggest victory throughout the rivalry.