Austria Secure Champions League Football Despite Loss
Austria Wien will attempt to qualify for the Group Stages of the UEFA Champions League next season, as they sealed a second placed finish in the Bundesliga this season, despite a disappointing 1-0 defeat to St. Polten at the NV Arena on the final round of games in this season’s Bundesliga campaign. Die Vielchen’s last appearance in Europe’s premier club competition was in 2013-14, the season after Austria’s last league title, where Die Vielchen struggled in a group containing established Champions League regulars in FC Porto and Zenit St. Petersburg as well as eventual runners up Atletico de Madrid, although the campaign will be fondly remembered for a stunning 4-1 victory over Zenit.
Austria will enter the competition during the qualifying phases next season, in the third qualifying round in the league half of the draw, making the route to the Group Stages more hazardous than if they had been crowned Champions. Last season, Sturm Graz, made no further progress in the Champions League, suffering an aggregate loss to Group Stage regulars FC Basel, meaning Austria Wien will have to be at their collective best if they are to progress from a potentially hazardous tie. As a result of having played no European football this season, Austria’s UEFA co-efficient currently sits at 16.00, meaning they will be unseeded for the draw, and will face one of either Zenit St. Petersburg, Shakhtar Donetsk or SL Benfica. Either FC Basel or Ajax will join the aforementioned trio in the seeded pot if they win their Second Qualifying Round tie.
Having suffered the disappointing defeat to St. Polten, courtesy of Alexander Borkovic’s own goal in the eight minute, the travelling Die Vielchen fans were anxious about their sides prospects of qualifying for the Champions League, but Sturm Graz’s defeat to Champions Red Bull Salzburg on Matchday 32 meant that the final spot in the Champions League was awarded to Austria. Speaking to fk-austria.at at full time Christopher Steegmann said: “It is an incredible achievement for this team to have qualified for the Champions League. It is a big step up on last season and considering the run we were on, only a few weeks ago, for us to have raised our game to get ourselves over the line is something the boys need to be very proud of.
Now, the wait for Die Vielchen fans begins, with the draw for the Second Qualifying Round taking place on July 23rd, with the first and second legs of the tie being played August 7th and August 14th.
Comments
Justice: Yeah I’m delighted to have them on board. They have been good for us this year and will be two key additions to the squad over the summer. They’ve used up a chunk of our budget for next year but they’re definitely worth it.
Jack: F*ck them indeed, they’ve been warned!
ScottT: A brilliant win, felt great to get one over them and really give them a middle finger! The squad is a good squad and with the right additions should be a real force in this league next season. Really excited for a European campaign though!
Last Update: #34 Cuevas Double Seals Memorable Salzburg Win
Next Update: #36 Month In Focus: May