"Krone" series

“I’m still getting goose bumps today”

The games in Lehen had a special flair.

(Bild: Gepa Pictures)

Part 3 of the series: When a "Krone" reporter became a spy for Austria and a Belgian goalkeeping legend sided with the Violets in their clash with Royal Antwerp. In addition: fears for Nikola Jurcevic, who was to become the match winner against his former club.

Royal Antwerp awaited Austria in the second round of the UEFA Cup. The opponent? Royal Antwerp. The club is hardly known to young fans, but back then it belonged to Europe's elite, reaching the final of the Cup Winners' Cup a few months earlier (1:3 against Parma). Now the Belgians stood in the way of the team from Mozart's city.

Nikola Jurcevic, who had a brief intermezzo with the Flemish club in '88/89 but was not happy there, was particularly motivated. His participation in the first leg was in doubt for a long time, and it was only after a fitness test shortly before the start of the game that he was given the green light. "Jura" would go on to become the man of the match, scoring a dream goal with his far post to give the home side a 1-0 win.

Philipp Mirtl: Today a player consultant, in the 90s a noble fan of Casino Salzburg.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas/Andreas Tröster)

Rudi Mirtl, the "crazy guy"
"The games in Lehen were always the greatest thing for me. Even today, I get goose bumps when I drive past the old stadium," recalls Philipp Mirtl. The player consultant (m&m deportivo) was not only a fan of the club, but is also the son of Rudi Mirtl, the unforgotten club secretary who was held in the highest esteem by the players. "He was an amazing guy," enthuses Martin Amerhauser.

Ex-goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff, who was friends with Mirtl, agreed. For the Violets, this turned out to be a lucky coincidence before the second leg. The tough trip to the "Hell of Deurne", as the Royals' home ground was known, awaited. Two regulars, Weber and Winklhofer, were out and Heimo Pfeifenberger was questionable.

One of the crowd favorites in the 90s: Wolfgang "Sali" Feiersinger.

(Bild: Repro Andreas Tröster/Philipp Mirtl)

Pfaff lent a hand
But then came Pfaff, who once had a similar injury to the Lungau native and showed the Salzburgers which special bandage helped him. Heimo, who also had an injection, was also given this. And then there was Hannes Krawagna. The "Krone" reporter legend had already traveled to Antwerp five days before the game with ex-Salzburg striker and Royal all-time great Karl Kodat.

"A filthy rich factory owner invited Karl one evening and he simply brought me along," Krawagna recalls from an event at which videos of Royal were shown. "I made mental notes of everything," reports Krawagna, a walking soccer encyclopaedia. His impression: the Belgians play very differently at home than away. He absolutely had to tell Baric that. "He normally never had a drink. But I had two bottles of Burgundy with me and tried to convince him."

The coach listened to him and made several changes, which paid off. Salzburg won - with Pfeifenberger - 1:0. The match winner was goalkeeper Otto Konrad, who had another top day, and Wolfgang Feiersinger, who largely neutralized Antwerp's top star Hans-Peter Lehnhoff and scored the winning goal in the 84th minute. "It was a top sensation," says Pfeifenberger today. It was not to be the last.

Read more in part 4 of the series:
The match of the century triggers euphoria across the country