"I am impressed"
Rangnick moved: “When 30,000 suddenly sing”
Immediately after a great moment in Austrian soccer, team boss Ralf Rangnick tried to put what had happened into perspective. His team had just beaten the Netherlands 3:2 and finished first in the most difficult European Championship group according to the world rankings, so the question of whether they were ready for the title was inevitable. "I don't think it's very likely that we'll be European champions," Rangnick replied on Tuesday in Berlin's Olympic Stadium. However, the team boss was touched by the fans.
Even before the start of the tournament, the international media had already assigned the ÖFB team the status of secret favorites. Rangnick is still unperturbed by this. "That has absolutely no effect on our games," emphasized the German. They don't want to get involved in title speculation, they think from game to game. "The boys are ambitious and want to get as far as possible."
It is not only the performance against "Oranje" that makes advancing as far as possible. By winning their group - the first at a final tournament since the 1978 World Cup - Austria avoided the half of the grid containing the title favorites Spain, Germany, Portugal and France. They could only meet these four teams in the final.
But first they will face the runners-up from Pool F, either Turkey, the Czech Republic or Georgia, in Leipzig on Tuesday. "No matter what comes next, they're all good opponents. We always have to perform at the highest level anyway," said Rangnick.
Rangnick "delighted" with his team
With a performance like the one against the Dutch, the men's team could reach the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the first time in ÖFB history. "We got into the game brutally well and had what felt like 80 percent possession in the first 20 minutes," said Rangnick. The goal conceded to make it 1:1 soon after the restart was "not particularly fortunate". A mistake by Florian Grillitsch had led to the goal. "That was an uncharacteristic loss of possession by him," explained Rangnick.
A few minutes later, Grillitsch set up the 2:1 through Romano Schmid. "I'm delighted for him that he had the confidence after that mistake to get involved and play a chip ball like that," said the coach. In general, he was "impressed" with how his team reacted to equalizing twice.
Rangnick had surprised with his line-up, as he initially left Christoph Baumgartner and Konrad Laimer, who were threatened with yellow cards, on the bench. One reason for this was the 1:1 draw between Croatia and Italy the day before - it was clear that they would have progressed even with a 4:0 defeat against "Oranje". "If the Italian goal hadn't been scored in the last minute, we would probably have started with a different team," Rangnick said.
Wimmer has to watch
The national team coach decided to make a total of four changes compared to the 3:1 against Poland, which turned out to be a stroke of luck. "We chose a pretty unexpected line-up. In hindsight, these thoughts paid off. We were able to go 'all in' with this formation right from the start."
With Marko Arnautovic, Maximilian Wöber and Patrick Wimmer, Rangnick only included three of the seven players at risk in the starting eleven. Only Wimmer saw yellow and will therefore have to sit out the round of 16. "It was clear to me: if we want to win, we can't take yellow cards into consideration right from the start. If I tell Konrad Laimer not to risk a yellow card and he holds back, I don't even need to field him." Baumgartner also felt slight knee problems, the team boss reported.
The way we play suits the players perfectly, and that's what it's all about in the end.
Ralf Rangnick
The new additions to the team did their job brilliantly. Rangnick: "The game brought the realization that the width of our squad is a bit greater than everyone thought, including myself." This squad won the group ahead of runners-up France - although Rangnick had said the day before that he did not think finishing first was "very likely". "I'm sticking to my guns: the probability of us winning and France not beating Poland - if you'd bet on that, you'd probably be a rich man or woman by now. The nice thing about soccer is that things like this happen and we were rewarded for our courageous and energetic performance."
Stadium is familiar
After the opening clash with France, there was little to no argument for first place. "We started with a 0:1 and then had a lot of pressure before the Poland game. The fact that we ended up winning the group is incredible," explained Rangnick, who can now prepare his squad for the round of 16 for a week. "It's almost like the Bundesliga," said the soon-to-be 66-year-old about the long break.
The journey to Leipzig will be made by coach. This minimizes the risk of unpleasant surprises such as before the France match, when the flight to Düsseldorf was delayed. Even Tuesday's trip from the team hotel in Berlin to the Olympic Stadium did not go smoothly - a police officer accompanying the bus was hit by a car on his motorcycle, but was not seriously injured.
The upcoming stay in Leipzig was "for some a trip to their old home, for some even to their current home". Baumgartner and Nicolas Seiwald are currently employed by RB Leipzig, while others such as Laimer, Marcel Sabitzer and Rangnick himself have worked for the Saxons for years.
Statistics speak for Rangnick
In Leipzig, emphasis is placed on the style of play that also characterizes the ÖFB team. According to Rangnick, however, the term "Red Bull soccer" has little meaning. "That doesn't really make sense, because we also invest a lot of time in what we do with the ball. What we play suits the players perfectly, and that's what it's all about in the end."
The fans thanked him with fervent roars of "I am from Austria", while the ÖFB song "Hoch gwimmas (n)imma", which was launched over a year ago, played a subordinate role at best. "I still think this song is cool because it lets the humor flow and makes fun of itself in an original way. But when 25,000 or 30,000 people sing 'I am from Austria', I find it even more authentic and more fitting for the team," said Rangnick.
While the ÖFB team celebrated with the fans to the sounds of Rainhard Fendrich, Rangnick took a seat on the substitutes' bench. "I just wanted to rest a bit," said the coach.
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