Austria Vienna-Wolfsberger AC (2-0)

Austrian Bundesliga
Generali Arena
May 19, 2019

I believe that Austrian football gets seriously underrated. They have a competitive national team, a great history with the Wunderteam of the early 20th century, and an intense rivalry between the two main capital clubs. Rapid was the team of the working class and proletariat while Austria Vienna was a team of coffee house intellectuals. I also have vivid recollections of Dynamo losing to Rapid with Trifon Ivanov (RIP) in the 90s. Oh, and Aleksandar Dragovic played for Austria before we bought him. So yeah, I tend to side with Austria more. And why not see them when you have a chance, right?

My trip to Vienna coincided with the final rounds of their league and Austria playing the final home game of the season against Wolfsberger AC. I easily got the ticket from the team's website for just 20 Euro and later picked it up from the famous kiosk in front of the Vienna Opera. Everything is closed in Vienna on Sundays, so going to a football game is always a good idea.

The stadium is not anywhere close to the historic center but it’s just a few subway stops away and must be even reachable on foot. The Fritz Horr stadium or Generali Arena as it’s called now, has been completely rebuilt not so long ago and is a nice modern ground now. The area is part residential, part industrial with a big road, a roundabout and a pedestrian bridge. I really like when the stands are of different size, it adds certain character to the stadium. With about an hour to spend before kickoff, I had a walk around the stadium and went inside the club shop. It was just ok, in my opinion. You can get usual merch, but nothing really grabbed my attention. Pennants were too expensive (each over 10 Euro) and quite big, while the only magnet on offer was just a hideous piece of plastic.

When I bought my ticket, I could select a seat, so I knew it would be for an ultras stand, called OSTtribune. In fact, it is a two-tiered stand so my seat was above the ultras but the entrance is still the same. It was immediately clear that Viola ultras were real hosts here and they marked their territory with stickers and graffiti. Lots of big guys with tattoos and shaved heads but also plenty of women and kids wearing violet team colours. There were also lots of old-school fans with unmistakable denim jackets with multiple patches. I think there attendance was a bit higher than usual as it was the last game of the season.

I bought a small pennant from the ultras’ merch stand. I also got myself a tasty bratwurst hot-dog withmustard and ketchup. Most of the fans just had beer that was sold in special plastic cups with pictures of players. I think you have to pay a small deposit to have it and then get your money back when you return the cup. Even though the beer was flowing freely, I did not see any heavily drunk fans, but maybe it was just early for that.

The team enters the field and the PA starts “Hell’s Bells” by AC/DC. Yes, I know it’s trite. I also really dislike traditional rock but somehow AC/DC always seemed better to me than the rest of those bands. Young brothers definitely knew how to write rock’n’roll riffs. Then there was a song, that I believe was a German rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and, finally, the starting 11 was announced with “Rock Me, Amadeus”, which is, frankly, the only correct answer for any Austrian team. Austria’s opponents are a club from a small Alpine town that looks like a beautiful place to visit. Wolfsberger AC spent most of their existence in the lower leagues and, frankly speaking, I have never heard of them before. To make things worse, the team is now known as RZ Pellets WAC for stupid sponsorship reasons. No wonder I could not understand who Austria were playing against. The stadium was only half full but it certainly felt more than that. The noise was mostly from the ultras section underneath but even more casual fans around me joined the chants. Oh, and everybody stood, and I saw no stewards or cops whatsoever. The away section on the opposite stand was quite full and

with lots of banners and flags but for some reason those fans just simply sat without even chanting or waving the flags.

I did not recognize a single player in both teams’ squads. The first half was incredibly boring, I can’t remember a single chance from either team. The quality resembled Polish or Ukrainian lower leagues. Luckily, the second half was much more entertaining. Nigerian striker Bright Edomwonyi headed the first goal for Austria after a simple cross. And then one of Austria players got sent off after a reckless challenge. Nevertheless, Vienna’s team was in full control and managed to score a second goal.

After the game all the players came to each stand to mark the final home game of the season and to congratulate the supporters. The spent the longest before our stand and chanted together with the adoring fans.