Prohaska tackles Bulls
One of Austria’s best footballers of all time has launched a devastating attack on Red Bull Salzburg (RBS).
Ex-AS Roma star Herbert Prohaska criticised the club yesterday (Thurs) for not letting midfielder Georg Teigl and defender Martin Hinteregger perform for Austria in the upcoming Under-20s World Cup.
Prohaska – voted Austria’s Footballer of the 20th Century – called the decision of the club “a joke.” He said: “Salzburg have claimed they are trusting young players – before signing four foreigners.”
He added: “I hope to be proven wrong, but I fear Hinteregger and Teigl won’t be given a lot of playtime.” Prohaska claimed he was convinced both players would have been crucial to the success of the youth national squad managed by Andreas Heraf in the tournament which will take place between 29 July and 20 August in Colombia.
Prohaska, 55, hit out at the Bulls for failing to let Teigl and Hinteregger represent Austria in the competition despite their star-studded squad of 30 players.
The Austria Vienna icon was confirmed in his points of view by Kurt Garger. The ex-Rapid Vienna star said today: “Salzburg aren’t an Austrian club in my opinion.”
Prohaska works as columnist and live TV football analyst. Garger manages Austrian second league side TSV Hartberg after a spell at First Vienna FC among other clubs.
Red Bull Salzburg’s announcement that they will not let Teigl and Hinteregger leave to join the Austrian Under-20s squad in Colombia came shortly after German giants Bayern Munich made clear David Alaba has to stay. The club explained they would not let Alaba perform for the Under-20s squad since he is a member of Austria’s senior national team too. Alaba previously announced he would love to play for Austria in the youth tournament.
Aleksandar Dragovic also said he would have enjoyed supporting the Austrian Under-20s team. However, his club – Swiss league champs FC Basel – rejected the Austrian Football Association’s (ÖFB) appeals to allow him to travel with the squad to America later this month.
Meanwhile, an Austrian Bundesliga committee has reduced the sentence issued to Rapid Vienna. The 32-time league champions were ordered to stage their first two home matches of the upcoming season in front of empty stands. The team were also ordered to pay a fine of 50,000 Euros.
Around 200 hooligans stormed the pitch during the most recent Vienna derby when their team conceded a goal. The match, which was abandoned at a score of 2-0 to Austria Vienna, was eventually put down in the statistics as 3-0 to the away side. Rapid appealed the verdict which was handed down a few days after the scandal-stricken match in May.
Now the league has decided the Green-Whites only have to play once in an empty stadium, with the second audience ban game on suspension. However, the panel refused to take back the 50,000-Euro fine.
The 2011/2012 season starts with four matches on 16 July before vice champions RBS face Austria Vienna the following day.
Champions Sturm Graz announced yesterday they sold Gordon Schildenfeld to Eintracht Frankfurt. The Croat was considered as one of the best defenders in the league, especially last season. He was part of several sport magazines’ Team of the Year line-ups.
Sturm explained that his contract featured a clause which would allow him to leave if a club forked out one million Euros. Eintracht Frankfurt – who were relegated from the German Bundesliga last season – did so just weeks after signing Austrian national team striker Erwin Hoffer on loan from Italian side SSC Napoli.
Armin Veh is the new manager of Eintracht Frankfurt. The German worked at Hamburger SV (HSV), where late Austrian football coaching legend Ernst Happel was in charge for six years until 1987, last season.
German Bundesliga powerhouse Schalke 04 snatched Christian Fuchs. The Austrian national team left-back joins the Royal Blues from league rivals Mainz 05. Around 4.5 million Euros exchanged hands in the transfer.
RBS recently announced they signed Swedish midfielder Ramus Lindgren from Dutch 1995 UEFA Champions League winners Ajax Amsterdam. The Bulls – now coached by Ricardo Moniz – also snared Finnish defender Petri Pasanen from Werder Bremen, the club of Austrians Marko Arnautovic and Sebastian Prödl.
Austria Vienna had to let Julian Baumgartlinger leave. The midfielder decided to join Mainz 05. However, the Austrian Bundesliga side managed to persuade Alexander Grünwald to rejoin them from Magna Wiener Neustadt. The midfielder is considered a promise for the future. At the same time, rumours that Austria Vienna’s Zlatko Junuzovic is to move to Germany to ply his trade in the prestigious Bundesliga are not dying down.
Alexander Zickler announced his retirement from professional football. The German striker – who looks back on a doomed season with LASK Linz – revealed he would return to RBS to work in the club’s youth department. The former Bayern ace added he would also be in charge of various fan projects.