European Football Championship
Lindner’s cancer shifted his priorities!
Heinz Lindner is back with the Austrian national soccer team for the first time since March 2023. The Upper Austrian was still the ÖFB's first-choice goalkeeper in the European Championship qualifiers against Azerbaijan (4:1) and Estonia (2:1) before he was diagnosed with a testicular tumor. The illness has since been overcome, but it still left its mark. "You see things with different eyes," explained Lindner on Thursday in Windischgarsten.
"Things that annoyed you before are now so low in importance that they no longer annoy you," said the 33-year-old. "It sounds like a cliché, but the most important thing is to be healthy. I appreciate it more now to wake up and know that I'm healthy." Lindner's illness and surgery became public in May of the previous year, and after his recovery he no longer played a role at FC Sion.
"It was communicated like this from the start!"
This was followed by a loan to Union Saint-Gilloise in the winter - Lindner made three appearances for the Belgians, with his club remaining unbeaten against Frankfurt, Fenerbahce and St. Truiden. Otherwise, there was no getting past Luxembourg team goalkeeper Anthony Moris. "It was communicated from the start that I was the number 2. The fact that I didn't make more appearances is most likely due to the fact that Moris is the captain and a club legend."
Lindner's loan contract at Saint-Gilloise has come to an end, but a return to FC Sion, who have been promoted back to the top Swiss league, seems unrealistic. "We'll see how things develop. I'm certainly not going to Sion to be number 2." As far as a possible new employer is concerned, there are already "a few interested parties", Lindner said.
"It's just like before, we're a close-knit bunch!"
At the moment, however, the search for a club has priority over the ÖFB team. Lindner is determined to make the cut on June 7 and thus make it into the EURO squad, but just being nominated for the big squad was "overwhelming" and "incredibly nice". "It's just like before, we're a close-knit bunch."
Lindner announced that he would now "give 100% in training and bring my experience to the goalkeeping team". The 33-year-old is considered an outsider in the race for the one-goal shirt alongside the currently nominated Patrick Pentz, Tobias Lawal and Niklas Hedl as well as the currently injured Alexander Schlager. "But I'm approaching it like everyone else. I give it my all in training and try to convince the coach."
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