"Krone" series

A country in soccer fever

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10.05.2024 20:30

Part 7 of the "Krone" series: Attempts at bribery before the first leg of the final against Inter in Vienna. The great hype surrounding the Violets reaches its absolute peak. The first final duel against the favored Italians was narrowly lost 0:1.

Inter are an enormous team," Otto Baric said after the UEFA Cup final. "Their budget is at least twenty times higher than ours." Nevertheless, the coach believed in a final European Cup miracle.

Baric & Co. were sure to receive the support of their supporters. Fan merchandise was sold out, purple clothing had to be reordered in stores. The euphoria throughout the country knew no bounds. "Salzburg for Austria - Austria for Salzburg" was more than just a slogan.

The Austrians even stormed the music charts with "Wir sind die Sieger". "Unbelievable! We had fool's freedom because we were so popular," says Hermann Stadler, still impressed today. "Even my great-grandmother watched all the games back then when she was over 90. It was madness!" 

Stadler (left) and Pfeifenberger picked up a yellow card. (Bild: Franz Pammer)
Stadler (left) and Pfeifenberger picked up a yellow card.

Before the first leg of the final against Milan, special trains were organized from Salzburg and Saalfelden and the 48,000 tickets were sold out immediately. A circumstance that led to bizarre activities by the fans. Employees in the Austria secretariat were exposed to attempts at bribery. Up to 20,000 schillings were offered to get a ticket through the back door. One desperate fan even enclosed a blank check with the note "Pay any price for two tickets - please just put the amount in yourself".

Eleven players facing a ban

Baric, who was received with the team by Vienna's mayor Helmut Zilk in the town hall before the game, had other worries. Adi Hütter and Wolfgang Feiersinger were suspended, Nikola Jurcevic was injured and all eleven (!) starting players in the first leg of the final were in danger of yellow cards. One more card and they would have to sit out in Milan.

Austria legends at the 25th anniversary. (Bild: Andreas Tröster)
Austria legends at the 25th anniversary.

To make matters worse, Otto Konrad had forgotten his lucky bag (with a badger's beard, horseshoe, a little doll and a cap) in Karlsruhe and, despite all his efforts, never got it back. A bad omen? There was no sign of this at the start of the game, as one attack followed another. Almost out of nowhere, however, Inter's Nicola Berti fooled Salzburg's Peter Artner and scored to make it 0:1 (35'). Despite a red card against Alessandro Bianchi (48'), it was to stay that way.

Nicolas Berti scored first for Pfeifenberger, then 1:0 for Inter. (Bild: Franz Pammer)
Nicolas Berti scored first for Pfeifenberger, then 1:0 for Inter.

To make matters worse, the "Salzburger Buam" Heimo Pfeifenberger and Hermann Stadler were shown a yellow card. "It was a stab in the heart," recalls Pfeifenberger. "My friends already had tickets for the second leg and wanted to see me. I made a stupid foul in the opponent's penalty area. Pointless to the power of three," Stadler regrets.

Baric remained as positive as possible despite the defeat. "The chances are 60:40 for Inter. But 40 is also a big percentage," he said with his famous accent.

Part 8: With Niki Lauda to the "Grande Finale"

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