1978

At the foothills of the Sierra Chicas mountains in central Argentina, sits historic Córdoba. Córdoba is a vibrant city that blends an industrialized base along with stunning architectural reminders of the areas rich heritage. Now before you begin to book your holiday in Argentina or start to wonder what precisely this post has to do with Austria in the Euro 2008 championships, there is one other relevant piece of historical information I should mention.

It was nearly thirty years ago now, a blink of an eye for those of us who prefer not to think how fast time as went and it was a brilliant era of growth for the sport of Football. Argentina was the host for the 1978 World Cup which included such legendary players, Zico, Daniel Passarella, Paolo Rossi, Michel Platini and Hugo Sánchez.

As the tournament progressed, The Netherlands, Italy, West Germany and Austria were paired in the same group of the second round. After being soundly beaten by the Netherlands in their first match and then losing to Italy on a Paulo Rossi goal, Austria’s hopes of advancing were over and their final match against West Germany at the Estadio Córdoba on June 21st 1978 was ostensibly a matter of pride.

In Austria’s midfield was Josef Hickersberger, an experienced midfielder known for his tenacity who played his club ball at Fortuna Düsseldorf. Expert opinion of the day gave Austria little chance but then again expert opinion never could quantify human will and an underdog that just won’t give up. With the second of Hans Krankl’s goals Austria improbably defeated the heavily favored West Germany 3-2, ending the West Germans World Cup hopes and sealed their names in the nations sporting history.

Once again, Austria is a heavy underdog with a seemingly impossible task. Now with a leader experienced in making the impossible a reality, it is time for all fans of Austria to join together in support of a team that has defied all the odds and honoured the nation with their performance. In the end, that’s what it was all about.