Austrian Ethic Pleases Brückner

Austrian football hit a 10 year high in Vienna this evening as they comprehensively beat a French side that were considered heavy favourites prior to kick-off. The intial goal of new coach Karel Brückner was to finish at least second in the section and, given this start, Austria have given themselves every chance of matching – or even bettering – that goal.

Former Czech Republic coach Karel Brückner was hardly bubbling over with delight at full-time, despite the positive score. “It was very much an achievement borne by discipline and hard work, but I am content,” he is quoted on his association’s official website as saying, “We were calm, particularly in the first half. There were, however, two or three misunderstandings… But it is still only three points, we need 18.”

Captain Andreas Ivanschitz, who set-up two goals and added another from the penalty spot, also emphasised the need on focusing on the future campaign, refusing to get caught up in the victory. In addition, the Panathinaikos midfielder felt his side played a “very smart” game.

Goal scorer Rene Aufhauser echoed the comments of his coach and captain, stating, “We worked hard and the momentum of the European Championships has continued. In the European Championships, we were perhaps missing a bit of luck but that was returned today. During 2008 we have played very well at this stadium several times but on each occasion we have not played for 30 minutes. This was not the case today.”

Robin Bairner