WAF Vorwärts Brigittenau – Favoritner AC (11-06-2023)

I arrived in Vienna on a Saturday evening, wanting to see a game, but an hour delay and horrible weather make me decide to stay at the hotel. The next morning, however, it is game on. I meet a local groundhopper at the main station and set off for the 20th district on the other side of the Danube.

The small ground (WAF Gruabn) is inside a residential neighborhood, with some mid-high rises, but surrounded by an ugly solid fence. We enter and pay €9 each and join an already pretty serious crowd about fifteen minutes before the 11.15 AM kick-off.

Today’s game is in the Wiener Stadtliga (Fourth Division), the highest local league in the capital city. WAF Vorwärts Brigittenau is a small team with a very local base, which is near the bottom of the league, and plays Favoritner AC, a club with a stories past, which even played in the top flight in the 1980s.

I estimate that there are some 150-200 people, with perhaps half from the visitors. Both teams and supporter groups are very diverse. Favoritner AC seems to have a strong Serbian contringent on the pitch and in the stand.

In the 2nd minute, the first attack of Favortiner is finished hard from inside the box: 0-1. The visitors overwhelms the hosts and after yet another attack, in the 6th minute, a well-placed shot from outside of the box goes in: 0-2.

The guests remain the dominant team. The quality of play is remarkably high, particularly the passing and technique of the Favoritner players. In the 35the minute, a brilliantly executed attack leads to yet another well-placed long shot: 0-3! This is also the half time score.

At half time I decide to visit the small grill to get some essential protein. Fully in line with the audience, they have several types of sausages and cevapcici, little minced meat “fingers” originally from former Yugoslavia. I chose the Bratwurst, however, which is on point.

In the second half the visitors are less dominant in second half. The only create a few half chances. In 68th minute, the guests have their best chance yet, when the ball is headed well wide.

In the 81st minute, WAF commits a clumsy foul inside of the box. Although the fouled player wants to take the penalty kick, he gives the ball to another player, who scores through the goalie, which seems to be his 200th goal. 0-4 is also the final score.

This was an incredible hop, thanks to the company, the weather, but also the local charm of the Wiener Stadtliga. I will definitely try to see more games in this league when I have the chance.

SC Rheindorf Altach – Admira Wacker (14-10-2017)

After an enjoyable afternoon in Ulm, we drive roughly 145 km (90 miles) south to Altach in Austria, where there is an early evening game in the Österreichisch Fussball-Bundesliga (Austrian Football Bundesliga), the first division, which counts only 10 teams, which play a “double competition,” an illustration of the dire situation of Austrian professional football.

 

While it has become quite common for clubs to name their stadiums after major sponsors, in Austria the sponsor becomes part of the club name. So, technically, I was attending Cashpoint SC Rheindorf Altach against FC Flyeralarm Admira Wacker. Horrible! We arrived at the Stadion Schnabelholz (commercial name: Cashpoint Arena) some 15 minutes before kick-off, bought tickets for a very acceptable €15, grabbed some snacks, and took our stand behind the goal, just next to the home “ultras.”

 

The stadium was built in 1990 and holds just 8,500. However, that is more people than live in the town of Altach, which had a population 6,394 in 2011. SC Rheindorf Altach only made it into the top flight of Austrian football in 2014 and they played UEFA Europa League two years later. This season they are in the lower half of the table, just below Admira Wacker, a long-term minor player in the Austrian Bundesliga.

 

This pleasant Saturday evening there are (officially) 5,072 spectators, almost all local, very mixed, creating a small town atmosphere more associated with second division teams. Only some 10 away fans had made the 640 km (400 miles) trek from the outer eastern point (close to Slovakia) to the outer western point of the country (close to Switzerland).

 

The game is decent, but not too high pace, and mostly between the two boxes. In the 15^th minute Admira gets a corner and the header is boxed over the goal. Some ten minutes later the visitors see another chance saved by the goalie. Three minutes before half-time Admira attacks again and the cross is headed cool into the goal: 0-1. This is also the half-time score.

 

Five minutes into the second half poor defending of Altach leads to an Admira through-header and a cool finish with the outside of the foot past the goalkeeper: 0-2. But three minutes later a wrong cross sails in and Altach is back into the game: 1-2.

 

In the 74^th minute the hosts have a good dribble, is followed by a Schwalbe (dive), which is rewarded a penalty kick (wrong decision). The player who went down takes the penalty himself and, as the iron law of football goes, misses! Cosmic justice.

 

In the direct counter after the saved penalty kick, an Admira header leads to a great save. The following corner is finished with a hard shot at the goalkeeper. A few minutes later the visitors have another great attack, but the volley from up close goes just wide.

 

In the 82^nd minute Altach counters, a long run, the player seems confused, then shoots from outside of the box, beautifully in the far corner: 2-2!  Both teams have one more good chance before the referee whistles for the last time. All in all, a highly enjoyable game on a very pleasant Fall evening.

Normally, a club like SC Rheindorf Altach plays in the second or third division, but in Austria, they play in the first division, among (fallen) famous teams like Austria and Rapid Wien. However, unlike those “big” teams, who often play in mostly empty modern stadiums, clubs like SC Rheindorf Altach play in cozy, small stadiums in front of most of the inhabitants of their town. That is what groundhopping is all about.

SC Austria Lustenau - FC St. Pölten (22-05-2015)

Lustenau is a very small Austrian town of just 20,000 people on the border with Switzerland. The local team, SC Austria Lustenau, plays in the Erste Liga (First League), which really is Austria’s second division.

Situated in the center of the small town, the Reichshofstadion is an old athletic stadium with randomly built extensions. It is set in a beautiful mountain scenery. On one side, on what used to be the track, there is almost a market of beer and snack tents behind the stand. They serve an amazing range of snacks and everyone is eating. 

I pay 14 euro for a ticket on the Haupttribune (main stand), which is covered and an all-seater. The stand is pretty full, a mix of the town’s population (including families), while the stand behind the goal is mostly younger ‘ultras’ (banners, drums and singing). 

Overall, the roughly 2,000 (guestimate) fans all sit or stand on those two stands. Along one long side is no stand, but some people simply stand there, while there is almost no one sitting on the uncovered bleachers behind the other goal. I see no away fans – then again, St. Pölten is almost 600 km (ca. 385 miles) away from Lustenau.

It is quite telling that you cannot even see the pitch from the VIP ‘stand’. Still, they can exclusively eat grilled chicken. They follow the game, if at all, on the tv screen inside.

The game is very poor: slow pace, poor passing and touch, and very few chances. After 20 min the visitors take me by surprise and score: 0-1. Ten minutes later there is a series of blocked Lustenau shots and a corner with a shot that goes just wide.

In the 39^th minute a header of the visitors is saved on the goal line by the Lustenau goalkeeper. Half time score: 0-1. I’m off to sample the broad variety of snacks, from candied peanuts to Currywurst, from some kind of Spaetzle to schnitzel, and from candy to Pommes (fries). My tip: Zack Zack with onion sauce (spiced pork cutlet).

 

The second half is mostly defined by the red card for a Lustenau player in the 57^th minute. One goal behind and one man down, the game is clearly over, particularly given that Lustenau was already the weaker team. I focus increasingly at the big screen, which is constantly showing commercials (something I have never seen before in a stadium).

In the 76^th minute the game is finally decided when the visitors score their second goal of the night. This is also the final score of the game.

 

Even though they lost 0-2 the atmosphere is good, as another team also lost, which meant that Lustenau wouldn’t relegate. To celebrate there was thirty minutes of free beer for the fane (soda for the children).

Overall, Austria Lustenau was an truly joyful experience. Sure, the football was pretty terrible, but the atmosphere was so authentic and homey. Football for the community, not for big business.