Austria 1 - 2 Germany
When Austria plays against Germany, it not just about winning, it is a matter of principle. It is a matter of national pride, of rivalry, of honour. The little brother trying to stand up to the big brother. The last time we managed to defeat Germany was in 1986, and we are still bragging about the miracle of Córdoba 1978. So, you see, this is a lot more that just a game.
My dearly beloved Ernst Happel-Stadium, about one and a half hour before kick-off. Yeah, we came there a little bit early. (As if I would really mind that, I love every second I can spend here).
I loved that they provided little flags for each visitor ^^
Later on, it looked like this.
The players warming up. Luckily, the Germans went to the right half of the pitch.
Sami Khedira in action.
Manuel Neuer. Oh why he has to leave Schalke? >__<"
Mesut Özil doing something that looks like a weird dancing move. In fact he's just passing a ball around with Sami Khedira. Cute that the Madrid players are warming up together ^^
The Austrian team warming up on the other side of the pitch. Don't ask me who is who, I have absolutely no idea... ^^"
Waiting for the players to come out of the dressing room. The stadium was sold out, so the atmosphere was absolutely incredible. When the Radetzky-Marsch was played, everybody (at least every Austrian fan) was waving their flags and clapping to the music. Rainhard Fendrich's 'I am from Austria', which is like Austria's inofficial anthem, was played too. And hell yes, that did give me goosebumps... the whole stadium was singing, after all.
During the anthems. I was really surprised that I still knew the lyrics of the Austrian anthem, and I was even more surprised that I sang along with the rest of the stadium. It was somewhat epic... =)
A minute's silence was held in commemoration of Ernst Weber, coach of our Women's National team, who had passed away in April. A few stupid German fans booed and whistled. Not nice...
Kick-off, 1st half. The guy wearing the number 19 shirt is Martin Harnik, probably one of the best players that day. Who the other guys are? No idea. The No. 9 guy might be Jimmy Hoffer... whatever.
Sadly, most of the action in the first half took place in the wrong half of the pitch.
Thank God my digital camera has a decent zoom...
The substitutes warming up right in front of me were really nice too... *__* HOLGER BADSTUBER!!
After the first half-hour or something, Austria grew stronger and stronger and even managed to dominate the game for a while.
And then came the first goal in the 43th minute. The German fans celebrated by displaying this huge jersey.
Kick-off, second half. Mesut Özil *__* Oh, and Christian Fuchs. Going to Schalke next season, good boy.
Mesut Özil directing the defense (at least it looks like that). Is Xabi Alonso rubbing off on him? ;)
Austria is attacking!! And Jogi Löw is not too happy about it.
Yay, numbers!!
Meanwhile, there are some Austrian players warming up too, so I have not only Holger Badstuber, but also my favourite Marc Janko to drool over.
Speaking of drooling, here is Mesut Özil....
...posing while waiting to take a free kick. Xabi Alonso really does rub off on Mesut... ;)
Hrrr, I see abs~ (to be honest, I was focused on Holger Badstuber when I took this picture. I only noticed Mesut Özil in the background when I scanned the pictures on the PC...)
And THIS was the point where it all went to hell. 90th minute.
German group hug. Somewhere in the middle is a shirtless Mario Gomez, but too far away to take proper pictures of him.
Final whistle. It hurt to see our boys being crushed and defeated again, but a least we didn't make it easy for the Germans. And yes, that is Mesut Özil taking off his shirt.
Hello Mesut, and thank you very much~ that made the defeat a little less bitter. But only a little bit.
After the game, we wanted to get autographs and take pictures, but it was too crowded and too dark (and there was that stupid trellised gate...). The players didn't really seem too happy (especially Mesut Özil, who reluctantly gave a few autographs and then retreated to the team bus. And Sami Khedira's mood was only marginally better).
Only Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller and Mats Hummels stayed a bit longer. Btw, I didn't know who Mats Hummels was (or that he even existed) before THIS. And holy shit, HE IS A PRETTY BOY!!Other things worth noting:
-IT WAS EPIC AND I'VE NEVER EVER BEEN THIS PROUD OF OUR BOYS BEFORE.
-before the game, whe we walked around the stadium, the Austrian team bus drove by RIGHT NEXT TO ME. *__* Okay, I didn't recognise any players, but I waved anyway and, sad to say, I was one of the few doing so. Most of the others just stared and made stupid comments. Hey, even though they suck sometimes, they're still our national team!!
-My friend almost got an autograph from Sami Khedira, but just before he went over to her his phone rang and he walked away.
-MESUT ÖZIL SHIRTLESS.
My personal opinion about the game is over here. Beware, huge rant!! Here is a video of all the goals, here is the UEFA match report.
"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."
My dearly beloved Ernst Happel-Stadium, about one and a half hour before kick-off. Yeah, we came there a little bit early. (As if I would really mind that, I love every second I can spend here).
I loved that they provided little flags for each visitor ^^
Later on, it looked like this.
The players warming up. Luckily, the Germans went to the right half of the pitch.
Sami Khedira in action.
Manuel Neuer. Oh why he has to leave Schalke? >__<"
Mesut Özil doing something that looks like a weird dancing move. In fact he's just passing a ball around with Sami Khedira. Cute that the Madrid players are warming up together ^^
The Austrian team warming up on the other side of the pitch. Don't ask me who is who, I have absolutely no idea... ^^"
Waiting for the players to come out of the dressing room. The stadium was sold out, so the atmosphere was absolutely incredible. When the Radetzky-Marsch was played, everybody (at least every Austrian fan) was waving their flags and clapping to the music. Rainhard Fendrich's 'I am from Austria', which is like Austria's inofficial anthem, was played too. And hell yes, that did give me goosebumps... the whole stadium was singing, after all.
During the anthems. I was really surprised that I still knew the lyrics of the Austrian anthem, and I was even more surprised that I sang along with the rest of the stadium. It was somewhat epic... =)
A minute's silence was held in commemoration of Ernst Weber, coach of our Women's National team, who had passed away in April. A few stupid German fans booed and whistled. Not nice...
Kick-off, 1st half. The guy wearing the number 19 shirt is Martin Harnik, probably one of the best players that day. Who the other guys are? No idea. The No. 9 guy might be Jimmy Hoffer... whatever.
Sadly, most of the action in the first half took place in the wrong half of the pitch.
Thank God my digital camera has a decent zoom...
The substitutes warming up right in front of me were really nice too... *__* HOLGER BADSTUBER!!
After the first half-hour or something, Austria grew stronger and stronger and even managed to dominate the game for a while.
And then came the first goal in the 43th minute. The German fans celebrated by displaying this huge jersey.
Kick-off, second half. Mesut Özil *__* Oh, and Christian Fuchs. Going to Schalke next season, good boy.
Mesut Özil directing the defense (at least it looks like that). Is Xabi Alonso rubbing off on him? ;)
Austria is attacking!! And Jogi Löw is not too happy about it.
Yay, numbers!!
Meanwhile, there are some Austrian players warming up too, so I have not only Holger Badstuber, but also my favourite Marc Janko to drool over.
Speaking of drooling, here is Mesut Özil....
...posing while waiting to take a free kick. Xabi Alonso really does rub off on Mesut... ;)
Hrrr, I see abs~ (to be honest, I was focused on Holger Badstuber when I took this picture. I only noticed Mesut Özil in the background when I scanned the pictures on the PC...)
And THIS was the point where it all went to hell. 90th minute.
German group hug. Somewhere in the middle is a shirtless Mario Gomez, but too far away to take proper pictures of him.
Final whistle. It hurt to see our boys being crushed and defeated again, but a least we didn't make it easy for the Germans. And yes, that is Mesut Özil taking off his shirt.
Hello Mesut, and thank you very much~ that made the defeat a little less bitter. But only a little bit.
After the game, we wanted to get autographs and take pictures, but it was too crowded and too dark (and there was that stupid trellised gate...). The players didn't really seem too happy (especially Mesut Özil, who reluctantly gave a few autographs and then retreated to the team bus. And Sami Khedira's mood was only marginally better).
Only Philipp Lahm, Thomas Müller and Mats Hummels stayed a bit longer. Btw, I didn't know who Mats Hummels was (or that he even existed) before THIS. And holy shit, HE IS A PRETTY BOY!!Other things worth noting:
-IT WAS EPIC AND I'VE NEVER EVER BEEN THIS PROUD OF OUR BOYS BEFORE.
-before the game, whe we walked around the stadium, the Austrian team bus drove by RIGHT NEXT TO ME. *__* Okay, I didn't recognise any players, but I waved anyway and, sad to say, I was one of the few doing so. Most of the others just stared and made stupid comments. Hey, even though they suck sometimes, they're still our national team!!
-My friend almost got an autograph from Sami Khedira, but just before he went over to her his phone rang and he walked away.
-MESUT ÖZIL SHIRTLESS.
My personal opinion about the game is over here. Beware, huge rant!! Here is a video of all the goals, here is the UEFA match report.
"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."