Capital: Vienna Population: 8.2 million Currency: Euro Official Language: German Borders: Germany (North), Slovakia (North/East), Hungary (East/South), Italy (South/West), Switerzerland (West), Liechtenstein (West) GNP per Capita: $27,920 (9th in world) Main Airport: Wien-Schwechat - Vienna
Lying in the heart of Europe, Austria is dominated by the Alps in the west, and flat fertile plains in the east. Created in 1918 after the collapse of the Hasburg empire, it was absorbed into Hitler's Germany in 1938, regaining independence in 1955. Was one of the founder members of the Euro.
Other Austrian Teams The Austrian league is characterised by a number of small regional teams from towns such as Linz and Mattersburg mixed with those who have occasionally graced Europe such as Sturm Graz, Rapid Vienna and Austria Vienna (now known as Austria Magna). There has been a tendency in recent years to sell everything including the kitchen sink to the first sponsor that comes along and so expect some of these names to change on a yearly basis. It is refreshing to still see a number of sides such as Rapid Vienna and Innsbruck shun the Euros and keep their traditional names, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. The league has been dominated over the past two seasons by the Red Bull cash in Salzburg, but the tide does seem to be changing with SV Ried, LASK Linz and Mattersburg leading the new order in Austrian Club football.
Games in the top Bundesliga division tend to be played on a Saturday at 5pm, with matches in the lower leagues either Friday or Sunday. Tickets are available at the gate for all games – it is a long time since a domestic game sold out, and even the best supported Red Bull Salzburg tend to struggle to fill the lower tier of their stadium. In the past few years as an experiment the Vienna derby between Rapid and Austria Magna has been played at the Ernst Happel National Stadium, although there are no early plans to repeat this for the coming season.
Last season the league was a two horse race for most of the year with Red Bull Salzburg and Rapid Vienna fighting out for top spot. The title in the end went to the Red Bulls, a reverse of 2007/08 when the Green and Whites from the Capital won, and a long awaited return to the Champions League (although still at the qualifying stage) awaits them in August. Austria Vienna came 3rd and will compete in the Europa Cup, whilst Sturm Graz completed a remarkable return from near bankruptcy with a 4th place finish.
At the other end Altach and Mattersburg were relegated.
Many thanks to WorldStadiums.com and Stadiumguides.com for allowing repoduction of the stadium photos below.
For more details on the locations of the stadiums, go to Footiemap.com which has a details view of the stadium's location as well as links directly through to the clubs websites.
For an up to date list of fixtures, click here. At the Christmas break Salzburg were leading the pack with 43pts, with Rapid on 40 and Sturm Graz on 39.
SV Josko Fenster Ried Volksfestplatz 2 4910 Ried im Innkreis Tel: +43 7752 81100 Web: http://www.svried.at Stadium: Fill-Metallbau Stadion 7,600 Capacity – 4,300 seats Seats - €13 Standing - €10
2006/07 season’s surprise runners up were SV Ried (named Josko Fenster after the club’s main sponsor), based in the Linz region of Austria. The team is based on home grown Austrian talent which is very unusual for the Bundesliga. Last season was the club’s best ever performance – previously they only had 2 x second division titles to their name – the last one was in 2005. NEAREST AIRPORT - LINZ
Main sponsor is Bauwelt Koch. Last season under the leadership of Franz Lederer, Mattersburg surprised many by finishing third in the league. Included in their squad is German international Carsten Jancker and Macedonian captain Goce Sedloski. Located in the north east of Austria in between Vienna and Graz close to the A23 autobahn. There is a small club shop at the stadium. NEAREST AIRPORT - GRAZ
FK Austria Magna Franz-Horr Stadion Matthias-Sindelar-Tribüne Fischofgasse 14, 1100 Wien Tel: +43 1 688 0150 Web: http://www.fk-austria.at Stadium: Franz-Horr-Stadion 11,800 Capacity – 9,000 seats Seats - €1 to €24 Standing - €12
Main sponsor is Magna who unsurprisingly also appear in the name of the club. The team finished mid-table last season and include the Polish internationals Jacek Bak and Arek Radomski in their squad this season. The club are located in the southern fringes of Vienna, adjacent to the E59 ringroad. The nearest tram stop is Reumannplatz on line 67 NEAREST AIRPORT - VIENNA / BRATISLAVA
SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz Triester Strasse 359 8055 Graz Tel: +43 316 771 771 0 Web: http://www.sksturm.at Stadium: UPC Arena 15,230 Capacity – All Seater Seats - €14 to €27
The previously named Arnold Schwarzenegger stadium has now been renamed after a bust up with the Governor of California. SK Sturm had a poor season last time out, finishing in 6th place – just a few seasons after gracing the Champions League three seasons in a row. Their main sponsor is Puntigamer who have signed a naming deal with the club. The club have won the Bundesliga on two occasions – the last time was in 1999. NEAREST AIRPORT - GRAZ
Cashpoint SCR Altach Schweizerstrasse 8 6844 Altach Tel: +43 5576 79911 Web: http://www.scra.at Stadium: Cashpoint Arena 9,000 Capacity – 1,100 Seats Seats - €16 Standing - €13 Another blatant example of a club selling their soul as SCR Altach adopted the Cashpoint name through a sponsorship deal a number of years ago. Their small stadium is currently going through a major programme of redevelopment to make it all seater. The stadium is located a few miles north of Vaduz in Liechenstein almost adjacent to the A14 Autobahn. NEAREST AIRPORT - FRIEDRICHSCHAFEN / ZURICH
LASK Linz Ziegeleistrasse 4020 Linz Tel: +43 732 603 332 Web: http://www.lask.at Stadium: Stadion der Stadt Linz 20,097 Capacity – All Seater Seats - €17 to €24
Last seasons newcomers to the Bundesliga were LASK Linz who won the second division at a canter in 2006/07. It is also refreshing to see that they have not sold out their name or their stadium yet. Linz is the second biggest city in Austria and is located in the north west of the country. The city is served on a daily basis by Ryanair from London Stansted. The stadium is a 10 minute walk from the Hauptbahnhof, although a number of buses also run up the hill from the station. NEAREST AIRPORT - LINZ
SV Stadtwerke Kapfenberg Franz Fekete Stadion J-Brandlgasse 258605 Kapfenberg Tel: +43 3862 220 70 Web: http://www.ksv-fussball.at Capacity: 12,000 – 2,000 seats Admission - €12 Seats €8 Standing Kapfenberg are the new boys in the Bundesliga for 2007/08 as they won the Red Zac league last season and will replace Wacker Innsbruck. The small club from Styria will struggle in the top division against the clubs with bigger budget but they will enjoy the experience. NEAREST AIRPORT - GRAZ
Red Zac Erste Liga – The Austrian Second Division Teams
SCS bet-at-home.com The bet-at-home.com Arena Vor der Au 4690 Schwanenstadt Tel: +43 7673 30283 Web: http://www.sc-scwanenstadt.at Capacity: 5,000 – 1,000 seats Admission - €12 Seats €10 Standing
SV Josko Fenster Ried
SV Baulwelt Koch Mattersburg
FK Austria Magna
SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz
LASK Linz
SV Stadtwerke Kapfenberg
SC Austria Lustenau 