Groundhopping24

The scene of the crime...a crime against football.  The last time I was at Austria Vienna's stadium, it had been part of a highly unusual yet enjoyable evening in September 2022, yet there wasn't a single Austrian on the pitch. That was because the Generali Arena was hosting a friendly match between Qatar and Chile for some reason. It was a great game, which finished 2-2 and involved a brief cameo from Ben Brereton-Diaz, but with the stadium more than half-empty, I would definitely need to return for an Austria Vienna game at some point. Fast forward three years and that point has finally arrived. Back in August, I visited Austria's fierce rivals, Rapid Vienna as they played out a goalless draw against Rheindorf Altach , but now comes the turn of Austria Vienna as they host Blau-Weiss Linz. The hosts should be absolutely buzzing following their 3-1 win at Rapid, and given that away fans couldn't attend, they'll certainly be welcomed home as heroes. The previous visi...

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  Vie...