Austria and Greece lock horns at the Ernst Happel Stadion on Wednesday as two in-form teams meet.
Austria are in the midst of a three-match unbeaten run, while Greece have not lost under new coach Fernando Santos in five matches, ever since the Portuguese manager succeeded Otto Rehhagel after the 2010 World Cup.
While this is only an international friendly and not a competitive fixture, for the teams’ managers Dietmar Constantini and Santos this match represents the final time this calendar year they can gather their sides together.
Both countries have made bright starts to their EURO 2012 qualifying campaigns. In Group 1, Austria have command of 2nd place at the moment with 7 points from 3 matches, a point ahead of Turkey and with a match in hand. Germany have seized control of the group right from the start with a maximum 12 points from their first 4 matches.
However should the Austrians continue their good form, which has seen them defeat Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan at home and come from behind to draw 4-4 against Belgium in October, then certainly the team will have a shot at making their second consecutive European Championship.
Greece meanwhile are also looking good in Group F as they lead the section with 8 points, one ahead of Croatia who have played one game less. Fernando Santos’ competitive reign may have begun in anti-climactic fashion with a 1-1 draw to Georgia at home, but the team have responded since with a credible draw achieved in Croatia followed by home victories over Latvia and Israel.
Though this is a tight group that could down to the wire, Greece really appear to be improving under Santos and the sense is that they will claim one of the top two spots.
Ahead of the match versus Greece, Austria welcome back captain Marc Janko who missed Euro 2012 qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Belgium last month. Constantini also sees the return of Bayern Munich midfielder David Alaba who too missed out on the team’s October qualifiers.
There are some injury concerns for the home side though. Emmanuel Pogatetz remains sidelined with a thigh strain that has affected him nearly the entire season. Ekrem Dag is also out injured for this match.
Pascal Gruenwald has been called up to the national squad for the first time and the Wacker Innsbruck goalkeeper may earn his first cap against Greece.
Greek boss Santos looks set to start with new faces with in-form players such as Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Grigoris Makos, and Panagiotis Kone getting the nod for the starting eleven.
Three players are also on the cusp of earning their first ever cap for Greece as Kerkyra’s standout goalkeeper Dimitris Konstantopoulos, Panionios defender Dimitris Siovas and Panserraikos midfielder Giorgos Giorgiadis have been selected for the first time.
Former Hartlepool United and Coventry City goalkeeper Konstantopoulos could not hide his delight at being called up to the national side, “The fact that I am the first Kerkyra player to play for the national team is a great honor for me.” He also expressed his satisfaction at the quality inherent in the squad and the family atmosphere within the Greek camp.
When asked about Wednesday’s match, Konstantopoulos was clear in saying, “What interests us more is trying out different things and improving and not necessarily the result. That doesn’t mean however that we won’t be trying to defeat Austria.”
Players from Greek clubs who had Monday matches due to Greek elections on Sunday have been ruled out due to a lack of time for proper rest. This includes Aris duo Michalis Sifakis and Thanasis Prittas who have been picked by Santos before.
Vaggelis Moras has been recalled to the side, however there is no place for Bundesliga leading scorer Theofanis Gekas who quit the national team in September. Since then, Gekas has made comments suggesting he would be open to returning to the national team fold, but Santos has said that the player will need to speak to him directly if the situation is to change.
While Wednesday’s match in Vienna may not be amongst the most high-profile of the day’s several big friendly clashes, the game promises to serve up some excitement as it will showcase two teams being rebuilt in hopes of achieving great things in the future.
While this is only an international friendly and not a competitive fixture, for the teams’ managers Dietmar Constantini and Santos this match represents the final time this calendar year they can gather their sides together.
Both countries have made bright starts to their EURO 2012 qualifying campaigns. In Group 1, Austria have command of 2nd place at the moment with 7 points from 3 matches, a point ahead of Turkey and with a match in hand. Germany have seized control of the group right from the start with a maximum 12 points from their first 4 matches.
However should the Austrians continue their good form, which has seen them defeat Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan at home and come from behind to draw 4-4 against Belgium in October, then certainly the team will have a shot at making their second consecutive European Championship.
Greece meanwhile are also looking good in Group F as they lead the section with 8 points, one ahead of Croatia who have played one game less. Fernando Santos’ competitive reign may have begun in anti-climactic fashion with a 1-1 draw to Georgia at home, but the team have responded since with a credible draw achieved in Croatia followed by home victories over Latvia and Israel.
Though this is a tight group that could down to the wire, Greece really appear to be improving under Santos and the sense is that they will claim one of the top two spots.
Ahead of the match versus Greece, Austria welcome back captain Marc Janko who missed Euro 2012 qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Belgium last month. Constantini also sees the return of Bayern Munich midfielder David Alaba who too missed out on the team’s October qualifiers.
There are some injury concerns for the home side though. Emmanuel Pogatetz remains sidelined with a thigh strain that has affected him nearly the entire season. Ekrem Dag is also out injured for this match.
Pascal Gruenwald has been called up to the national squad for the first time and the Wacker Innsbruck goalkeeper may earn his first cap against Greece.
Greek boss Santos looks set to start with new faces with in-form players such as Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Grigoris Makos, and Panagiotis Kone getting the nod for the starting eleven.
Three players are also on the cusp of earning their first ever cap for Greece as Kerkyra’s standout goalkeeper Dimitris Konstantopoulos, Panionios defender Dimitris Siovas and Panserraikos midfielder Giorgos Giorgiadis have been selected for the first time.
Former Hartlepool United and Coventry City goalkeeper Konstantopoulos could not hide his delight at being called up to the national side, “The fact that I am the first Kerkyra player to play for the national team is a great honor for me.” He also expressed his satisfaction at the quality inherent in the squad and the family atmosphere within the Greek camp.
When asked about Wednesday’s match, Konstantopoulos was clear in saying, “What interests us more is trying out different things and improving and not necessarily the result. That doesn’t mean however that we won’t be trying to defeat Austria.”
Players from Greek clubs who had Monday matches due to Greek elections on Sunday have been ruled out due to a lack of time for proper rest. This includes Aris duo Michalis Sifakis and Thanasis Prittas who have been picked by Santos before.
Vaggelis Moras has been recalled to the side, however there is no place for Bundesliga leading scorer Theofanis Gekas who quit the national team in September. Since then, Gekas has made comments suggesting he would be open to returning to the national team fold, but Santos has said that the player will need to speak to him directly if the situation is to change.
While Wednesday’s match in Vienna may not be amongst the most high-profile of the day’s several big friendly clashes, the game promises to serve up some excitement as it will showcase two teams being rebuilt in hopes of achieving great things in the future.
