ÖFB training in Berlin

Thousands of fans celebrate “true star” David Alaba

(Bild: krone.at Rainer Bortenschlager)

David Alaba is the "true star" of the Austrian national team - even as a coach. At the first public training session in front of 3,000 fans in Berlin, the "non-playing captain" took time for selfies and autographs.

Austria's national soccer team completed its first training session after arriving in Germany on Wednesday evening. 3,000 spectators watched the only public session planned for Ralf Rangnick's team during the European Championships in the stadium on the pitch. Marcel Sabitzer and Co. trained for just under an hour on the new pitch in Berlin's Olympiapark, which was specially laid before the EURO, with only Stefan Posch disappearing early into the dressing room to recover.

David Alaba took time for selfies and autographs.

(Bild: krone.at Rainer Bortenschlager)

Right-back Posch had received a blow to his knee in the last European Championship test in Switzerland (1:1). According to the ÖFB, his participation in the opening game of the European Championship on Monday (21:00) in Düsseldorf against France is not in danger. "The pitch is perfect," said fellow defender Maximilian Wöber after the start of training. "We were very well received, the atmosphere was great. It was very loud."

Before the start of training, the ÖFB squad was welcomed by Austria's ambassador to Germany, Michael Linhart. "You are Austria's best ambassadors here," said the former foreign minister, himself a big soccer fan, before presenting "non-playing captain" David Alaba with a small statuette of a Berlin bear in red-white-red as a good luck charm on behalf of the team.

Autographs and selfies
Even at the start of training, Alaba signed autographs and posed for selfies with the team in Germany despite his cruciate ligament rupture - much to the delight of the predominantly young visitors to the Hertha BSC training ground. The tickets required for the training session were mainly distributed to local associations and clubs. The ÖFB itself had a contingent of around 400 tickets.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Ralph Krueger was also among the guests. The chairman of the supervisory board of Wiener Austria, previously an ice hockey coach in the NHL and in soccer in the Premier League with Southampton, had already paid a visit to the Austrians at the preparation camp in Windischgarsten. Another motivational talk by the Swiss coach will follow in Berlin on Thursday.

The ÖFB players met in the German capital on Wednesday afternoon. All 26 squad players arrived punctually at the Schlosshotel Berlin in the Grunewald district, where the German team was accommodated during their "summer fairytale" at the 2006 home World Cup. The first item on the agenda after brief words of welcome from team boss Rangnick: lunch together

Wöber: "I was like a little child"
The anticipation was palpable. "For the first hour or two, I was like a little kid going on vacation for the first time or having a school vacation," said Wöber. The European Championship debutant also praised the hotel. "We have everything we need there. The rooms are great, there's a garden outside." Gernot Trauner agreed: "It's a short walk to the training pitch and perfect conditions - it's all very well thought out."

Maxi Wöber (right) and Christoph Baumgartner

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

The players arrived individually in the morning, Marko Arnautovic on a scheduled flight from Vienna. Alaba was already waiting for the attacking player at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. The two friends from Vienna, nominally numbers one and two in the ÖFB team's captaincy hierarchy, made the transfer to the hotel together in a VIP limousine.

New ÖFB sweater
The players and Rangnick appeared at training wearing new, personalized hoodies in the ÖFB design. "We show our face" was written on the back above a stylized half likeness of each player. After the session, the players, wrapped up in thick jackets, patiently answered autograph requests despite the comparatively chilly evening in Berlin.