Austria 'gain self esteem' as team beat Denmark
The Austrian national football team say it is on its way to regaining some self esteem after beating Denmark 2-1 last night (Weds).
Red Bull Salzburg striker Roman Wallner, who scored Austrias second goal (37), said: "This victory was important despite being just a friendly. But we should not overestimate it."
Red Bulls Franz Schiemer scored the opener in the 12th minute, before Arsenal star Nicklas Bendtner equalised the score five minutes later.
Defender Ekrem Dag, who celebrated his Austria debut against the 2010 World Cup competitors, claimed: "Well gain more and more self confidence with every victory."
Team coach Dietmar Constantini meanwhile admitted: "We were a bit lucky in some situations and played a too risky game in certain phases of the match."
Constantini came under fire for not nominating former captain Andreas Ivanschitz who is currently considered to be one of the best players at his new club Mainz 05 in the German Bundesliga. He was criticised for not calling up Inter striker Marko Arnautovic nor Atalanta Bergamo defender György Garics.
Austria apparently needs to regain the support of many of its fans since just 13,500 people came to see the match in Viennas 50,000-seat Ernst Happel Stadium. The last match was a 1-5 defeat in a friendly against Euro2008 champions Spain last November.
New national team captain Marc Janko the Red Bull ace who succeeded Wigan Athletic defender Paul Scharner in the role said: "We need to win back the trust of our fans. Today we made the first step."
The striker added he hoped for full stands in the teams next match, a friendly against Croatia in Klagenfurt on 19 May.
05.03.2010 19:03:20