At first glance, being ranked 27 in the FIFA world ranking as of 17 September 2020 shows that Austria is not a country that has too strong a football power. In fact, if examined further, Das Team – the nickname for the Austrian national team – had tasted third place at the 1954 World Cup.
Then, Austria has experienced ups and downs of achievement in the last few decades. Most recently, the team that is now being coached by Franco Foda has secured a place at Euro 2020 after being entrenched in the runner-up position in Group G in the qualifying round, behind Poland who won the group.
Hope for the revival of Austrian football can be seen from a number of players who mostly play in European top-level competitions, especially the German Bundesliga. Names such as Martin Hinteregger (Eintracht Frankfurt), Xaver Schlager (VfL Wolfsburg), to Stefan Lainer (Borussia Monchengladbach), for example, came to the surface and became a mainstay in their respective clubs.
According to Transfermarkt’s records, this season, there were 30 Austrian players who spread throughout the German Bundesliga clubs. Most recently, David Alaba can be used as an example of an Austrian footballer who has had a successful career in the German Bundesliga. The player who was born in Wien, June 24, 1992 has won various trophies with Bayern, starting from the Champions League, German Bundesliga champions, DFB Pokal, German Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, to world club champions.
Now, forget about David Alaba. The question then arises, why are Austrian players hooked to take part in the German Bundesliga? Geographically, the distance between Austria and Germany is quite close. The two countries are directly adjacent to the southern side of Germany. This makes the two countries closely related in the cultural sphere.
Thus, with football competitions more advanced and developing, the German Bundesliga is in great demand by Austrian professional players. The adaptation process is one of the main factors that can make players show maximum performance quickly.
In the 1990s, one of the Austrian players, Andreas Herzog, was claimed to be the figure who made Austrian football players dare to enter the German League competition; while making the Bundesliga club look to Austrian talent. His performances with Werder Bremen and Bayern Munchen became his reference.
Signed by Bremen from Rapid Vienna in 1992, Herzog moved to Bayern in 1995 and then returned to Bremen from 1996 to 2002. Herzog made a total of 344 appearances for the two clubs during his 10-year career in Germany.
He won a number of prestigious titles. Together with Bremen, Andreas Herzog contributed to the 1992/93 German Bundesliga trophy, as well as two DFB Pokal trophies 1993/94 and 1998/99. Meanwhile, while defending Bayern, the player who was born on 10 September 1968 won the 1995/96 UEFA Cup trophy.
Herzog’s greatness was agreed by former Austrian national team player Johnny Ertl. According to him, Herzog is a role model player who has shown the next generation that playing in the Bundesliga is not something impossible.
“In my opinion, Andreas [Herzog] really paved the way for the Austrian footballer to go to the German Bundesliga and be successful. I have no doubt that his success in Bremen is important in helping future generations of Austrian players succeed there, ”said Johnny Ertl.
Meanwhile, at the national team level, Herzog’s career was also brilliant. Herzog made his debut for the Austrian national team in a friendly match against Greece in April 1988. Throughout his career with the national team, he collected the most caps (103 appearances) and collected 26 goals.
As a midfielder, Herzog’s prowess is evident in his hard-kicking and passionate passion. After failing to bring Austria to appear in the 1994 World Cup, Herzog appeared with Austria at the 1998 World Cup in France. Unfortunately, at this event, Herzog did not perform well because of the injury he suffered.
Momentum to show his prowess also failed to occur even though at that event he could still score a goal against Italy in the final group stage match. Austria did not qualify for the knockout stages despite being able to draw against Cameroon and Chile in the first two matches.
Markus Geisler, a correspondent for the Austrian magazine Sportmagazin regretted the injury to Herzog. At the golden age, injuries made Herzog unable to show his best performance.
“The 1998 World Cup should be his tournament, he’s at the perfect age. However, unfortunately he suffered an injury so he could not perform as everyone expected, including himself, “he said.
In 1992, only five Austrian players took part in the German Bundesliga. Apart from Andreas Herzog, four other names are Mario Posch (KFC Uerdingen 05), Harald Cerny (Bayern), and Thomas Weissenberger & Reinhold Hintermaier (FC Nuremberg).
The increase occurred in the 1996/96 season with the number of players reaching five people. In fact, last season (2019/2020) is a record in itself because there are 32 Austrian players who defend the German Bundesliga club.
With these notes, the name Andreas Herzog can be called a pioneer. With all his greatness and achievements, he seemed to convince other players not to be afraid to compete in the German Bundesliga.
For this, the former Austrian national team midfielder, Markus Kiesenebner, agrees with Herzog’s greatness. He once said, “Andreas [Herzog] is a great legend in Austrian football and an unforgettable player. “Our country has had some fantastic players in the past, like Herbert Prohaska, Hans Krankl, and Toni Polster, and now David Alaba,” he said.
ASL
