On "Baumi's" cell phone

Special Rangnick message on the way to the stadium

Huge jubilation for Ralf Rangnick and Christoph Baumgartner

(Bild: AFP/JOHN MACDOUGALL, AP)

Special motivational injection from Ralf Rangnick! Before the match against Poland (3:1), the German sent Christoph Baumgartner a photo on his smartphone on the way to the stadium, showing the 24-year-old in the Leipzig jersey in a jubilant pose.

"I sent him an emoji on the way here. I do that with other players from time to time. There's an emoji in the Leipzig jersey, a cheering scene, I sent it to him," Rangnick said, joking: "But I don't know if that was such a good idea when I look at the first half."

Scene of the match
It was probably the scene of the game: Baumgartner scored the decisive 2:1 in Austria's 3:1 win over Poland in the European Championship clash on Friday and then sprinted straight to team boss Rangnick, whom he embraced warmly - as a thank you for the extra motivation the team boss had given him. The Lower Austrian had missed a set-piece in the 1-0 defeat against France, but now he was beaming in Berlin's Olympic Stadium with the "Man of the Match" trophy.

Huge cheers from Ralf Rangnick and Christoph Baumgartner

(Bild: AFP/JOHN MACDOUGALL, AP)

The missed chance against the French had not left Baumgartner unscathed. "You always score one goal in five international matches and then none in the one that really counts. I also ask myself why it didn't go in," admitted the Leipzig professional. In any case, his self-doubt was swept aside with the news from Rangnick. 

One-on-one talk
Before the break, Baumgartner didn't get into the game at all, hardly making any offensive impact on the right wing and making inexplicable mistakes. Afterwards, Rangnick asked his protégé for a one-on-one meeting in the dressing room. "He took time for me and encouraged me. He made it clear to me that he trusts me and that he knows I can make the difference in games like this. We have a good relationship and I'm extremely happy that he's still with us," said Baumgartner.

The decision to cheer Rangnick on was a spontaneous one. "It just came to me. I wanted to give something back and show that I am extremely grateful to the coach." Rangnick recounted the content of the conversation: "I said to him: 'You're such an important player, we need you to be at least in normal form'." Baumgartner's improvement after the change of ends was probably not exclusively due to the conversation with Rangnick. "The switch from outside to center certainly did him good," said Rangnick.

"Now it's really getting going"
The third European Championship victory in ÖFB history lifted a huge burden from his players. "We are all brutally relieved, there was a lot of pressure on us. The midday nap was very short, we didn't get much done," reported Baumgartner. But now there's an appetite for more. "Now it's time to really get going," announced the 40-time international (16 goals). "We still have some work to do, but the win was important for our heads."

The 3:1 win not only means that a place in the round of 16 is now very close - the ÖFB team also lived up to the praise they had received in advance, as they had often been described as the secret favorites in the international media. "This is an honor. We've beaten some very good nations and had a huge run in the last few months, so people are quick to think big. But we as a team were always able to assess this well," Baumgartner assured.