50 years of champion Vöest

The sensation in the year of the soccer revolution

Fritz Ulmer (front) was one of the mainstays of VÖEST's championship-winning squad.

(Bild: Dostal Harald)

(Bild: RUBRA)

Nine years after LASK, SK VÖEST created a league sensation in 1974 with the soccer title! But thanks to Ried, who finished second in 2006/07, and Pasching, who finished third twice in 2003/04 and 2005/06, there were only a few more!

"Attention, attention", it sounded from the radio: "Sturm Graz and Innsbruck drew 0-0, VÖEST Linz are the new champions with a 2-0 win over Vienna!"

Champions! Champions! Champions!

It was in the early evening of June 1, 1974, when the stadium in Linz burst its banks - and for the whole of Austria it was a sensation in the year of the soccer revolution. After all, 40 days earlier, on April 21, a new national league with only ten clubs had been decided in Austria by 158:38 votes. While 16 had played in the National League. Now, however, only Vienna, with Rapid and Austria, was to have two clubs, while all other federal states were to have just one.

VÖEST title puts LASK in a precarious position
Which is why the sensation had an impact on LASK, who had become the first non-Viennese club to win the title in 1965, creating a myth and ensuring that Linzer Landstraße was hopelessly congested from Blumau to the main square on the day they won the title.

LASK (picture) became champions in 1965, VÖEST in 1974.

(Bild: Max Stöger/Repro)

There was hardly any way for the team bus to get through. While nine years later, only 5000 people celebrated the VÖEST title on the Gugl. But it put LASK in a precarious position. As only one Upper Austrian club was planned for the new 10-team league, this place went to the champions.

Ried finished runners-up once, Pasching third twice
This meant that although LASK finished ninth, they had to go into a relegation play-off, which they won. This meant that the royal blue team's assault on the summit at least did not result in LASK crashing out.

What nobody could have guessed, however, was that this would remain the last Austrian soccer championship title for an Upper Austrian club for at least the next 51 years: After that, VÖEST 1975, Ried 2007 and LASK 2019 were "only" runners-up - but that was as good as it got, even if SV Ried's second place was of course a sensation.

In 2007, the small SV Ried surpassed itself and finished as runners-up.

(Bild: Associated Press, AP)

Likewise, the "village club" FC Pasching came third twice within three years. These were also great moments for our soccer country, if not as great as those achieved by LASK and VÖEST 59 and 50 years ago respectively.