UEFA gala in Monaco Fifty years of the champions' competition ...

GEPA-PICTURES
GEPA-PICTURES
Lennart
Johansson,
Joseph S.
Blatter
and Friedrich
Stickler
at the Vienna
Opera House.
Austrian Football
Association
Centenary party
in two acts
ON 17 AUGUST, THE AUSTRIAN FA CELEBRATED ITS CENTENARY WITH
A “SOUND OF FOOTBALL” GALA AT THE VIENNA STATE OPERA HOUSE, FOLLOWED
THE NEXT DAY BY A MATCH BETWEEN AUSTRIA AND GERMANY AT THE
ERNST HAPPEL STADIUM ATTENDED BY SOME 38,000 SPECTATORS. IT WAS A TWO-DAY
CELEBRATION THAT WILL LONG BE REMEMBERED.
Around 300 football officials
from 48 nations travelled to Vienna
to offer their congratulations to
Austrian FA President Friedrich Stickler
and General Secretary Wolfgang
Gramann in person. EURO 2008
Tournament Director Alfred Ludwig
was also there for the visitors to
greet. It was Ludwig who arranged
for the Austrian FA to be allowed to
make a non-programmed guest performance
at the opera for the first
time in its 135-year history.
For the “Sound of Football”,
the Vienna Boys Choir, Belgian singer
Helmut Lotti, Italy’s star export
Zucchero and famous Russian tenor
Sergej Nayda performed a fabulous
mix ranging from classical music to
rock and roll. But the leading roles
at this momentous evening were
played by other characters. UEFA
President Lennart Johansson paid a
posthumous tribute to Ernst Happel,
calling him the “Coach of the
Century”, recalling that in the last
year of his life, despite being seriously
ill, Happel still took on the job
of national coach. As a player, he
won 51 caps for his country and
played in Austria’s bronze-winning
team in the 1954 World Cup. He
was equally successful as a coach,
winning no less than 17 national
and international titles, including
the European Cup with Feyenoord
and Hamburg. “Ernst didn’t say
much but he was a great player and
Fireworks
for the centenary.
GEPA-PICTURES
a great coach!” The trophy in his
honour, made by Silvio Gazzaniga,
who also designed the FIFA World
Cup, was received by Happel’s grandchildren
Christina and Philipp.
Franz Beckenbauer, head of
the 2006 World Cup organising
committee, announced the “Player
of the Century” with the words
“Herbert, for the next hundred years,
you don’t have to worry about anyone
taking your place!” Herbert
Prohaska, still known affectionately as
“Schneckerl” because of the amazing
haircut he used to sport, was one
of the dominant footballers of the
1970s and 1980s. He was the national
team’s playmaker and brains. He
scored his most important international
goal on 30 October 1977 in
Izmir, putting Austria through to
the World Cup finals in Argentina.
“I always dreamed of winning the
World Cup or European Cup,” the
49-year-old beamed. “But I never
reckoned on becoming Footballer of
the Century. I would also like to
accept this award on behalf of others
who would have been just as worthy
winners, great players like Hans
Krankl, Matthias Sindelar, Franz
Hasil and Bruno Pezzey, to name
but a few.”
In other tributes, FIFA President
Joseph S. Blatter described
20-year-old captain Andreas Ivanschitz
as an “outstanding talent”, Michel
Platini praised Austria’s record scorer
Toni Polster (44 goals in 95 internationals),
while “host” Friedrich Stickler
extolled the merits of record
national-team player Andreas Herzog
(103 caps/26 goals).
The centenary match the
next day was refereed by Pierluigi
Collina. But it did not produce the
happy end that the Austrian FA would
have liked on the occasion of its
centenary. In their first match under
Jürgen Klinsmann, Germany won 3-1.
The scorers were Kevin Kuranyi
(2nd, 61st and 72nd minutes) and
Martin Amerhauser (10th minute).
Wolfgang Eichler
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