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Viva la Espana! Champions of Europe!

Re-live the Euro 2008 Championship by selecting a match below or visiting the dedicated site Euro2008TV.com for articles, photos, and video highlights of your favorite team.

 

Austria Euro 2008 Online Streams and TV Schedules

#Date	Time (US/Eastern)	Match	Result	Stage	Venue
Jun-08	11:50am	Austria - Croatia	0:1	Group B	Vienna
Jun-12	02:30pm	Austria - Poland	1:1	Group B	Basel
Jun-16	02:30pm	Austria - Germany	0:1	Group B	Vienna

Austria at Euro 2008

	Group B Austria Croatia Germany Poland View all group B details

Heading for disaster

Austria have been relatively anonymous on the world stage for some time now, but many expected that a tournament at home would galvanize their cause. All evidence thus far has pointed to the contrary. During 2007, Austria had won only one of their twelve friendly games. Coach Josef Hickersberger has to reinvigorate a side that seems timid in front of goal, and only recently found its feet in defence.   With no competitive games in the last year under their belt, Austria will have to treat their remaining friendly games with much more urgency than they have. If they do not vastly improve, Group B opponents Germany, Croatia, and even Poland will be ready to dismantle them at the tournament proper. The Austrian federation has set up some useful friendly games against Germany (which is on despite the fact that the two teams have been grouped together this summer) and Netherlands before Euro2008. Austria will most probably fail to beat the two nations, but they will be able to gauge their progress after the two games.

How Austria qualified

As co-hosts with Switzerland.

How Austria play

Hickersberger used both a 4-5-1 and a 4-4-2 in a recent friendly against England. The coach’s indecision gestures towards the tentative nature of his current team. Even amongst the uncertainty, some names seem indispensable. Central defender Martin Hiden, defensive midfielder René Aufhauser, and attacking midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz, who is also the captain, are names Hickersberger relies on frequently.

About the coach

Hickersberger was coach of the Austrian side that competed in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. His popularity amongst the fans has dramatically declined after an abysmal run of results this past year. Notwithstanding all the negative energy, Hickersberger has remained phlegmatic. He will need to find the right balance in attack before the tournament.

Key players

Alex Manninger - Siena’s talented goalkeeper has been vying for a starting spot with Jurgen Macho, but he should get the nod at the tournament. Manninger is an agile goalkeeper with quick reflexes. Still only 30, he has many years ahead of him as Austria’s goalkeeper. René Aufhauser - The Red Bull Salzburg’s defensive midfielder has won over fourty caps for his country. Hickersberger has been one of the few coaches who has given Aufhauser a consistent spot in the starting eleven. Aufhauser is a no-nonsense midfielder and has notched nine goals for Austria during his career.

Star player

Andreas Ivanschitz - The 24-year-old is the captain of his side and is hugely popular with the fans. He plays as an attacking midfielder, providing the creativity for an attack bereft of ideas.

Verdict

If Austria do not dramatically improve in the next few months, they may be the poorest side at this summer’s tournament. Their preparations have been inauspicious so far, and Hickersberger is running out of time to get things right. They could have been placed in a tougher group, but even Group B will provide a stern test for Austria. As hosts, there will be enormous pressure on the team to perform. First-round exit.

Article by Hasan Saiyid

Austria Euro 2008 News

• New football season awaits Euro 2008 effect (Swissinfo)Football clubs were hoping that Switzerland's poor showing at Euro 2008 would not reverse a trend of rising attendances when the new season kicked off on Friday.
• Make way Ronaldo, here come the robots (AFP via Yahoo! News) After Euro 2008, now Austria is preparing to host RoboCup, where 500 robots take to the football field hoping to prove their mettle.
• A Positive Balance From Sponsoring UEFA EURO 2008(TM) (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance) The international automobile industry supplier and premium tire manufacturer was host to more than 1,700 customers and representatives from the media in Austria and Switzerland at driving events during UEFA EURO 2008, who were impressed by the broad range of Continental products available for use in automobiles for today and tomorrow.
• Make way Ronaldo, here come the robots (TODAYonline)So-called "AIBO" four-leg robots representing Germany (blue) and Japan (red) vie for the ball during the 2006 RoboCup World Championship. After Euro 2008, now Austria is preparing to host RoboCup, where 500 robots take to the football field hoping to prove their mettle.
• Make way Ronaldo! (Independent Online)After Euro 2008, now Austria is preparing to host RoboCup...
• Austria to share its EURO-2008 experience with Ukraine (Unian)Austria will share with Ukraine its experience on organizing the European Football Championship. According to an UNIAN correspondent, Federal Chancellor of Austria Alfred Gusenbauer claimed this in Kyiv in the course of talks between the two governments on Tuesday.
• Post-Euro 2008, Austria hosts Europe's finest once again (TODAYonline)Coach of English football side Arsenal Arsene Wenger, pictured in June 2008. Barely two weeks after the final whistle of Euro 2008, teams from around the continent are heading back to Austria, this time to prepare for their upcoming seasons.