PREVIEW: Saturday night fever in Vienna...

Preview for the Austrian Bundesliga (22-24/2/08)

*Saturday night fever in Vienna*
The clash between the last two champions is the hot spot in the Austrian Bundesliga this weekend. FK Austria (who won the title 2006) awaits reigning champion Red Bull Salzburg on Saturday in their Franz-Horr-Stadion. The hosts made a crab start into the new year when the just managed a draw against lowly Altach at home last weekend, the "Bulls" by contrast rushed to a 4:0-win against Mattersburg.
On other matches, Sturm Graz are at home against promotion-sensation LASK on Friday and SK Rapid tries to win their second away-game in a row against Altach on Sunday.

SK STURM GRAZ - LASK (22/02, 19:30)
"Winterking" SK Sturm who was the surprise leader at the end of 2007 made a miserable start into the new year, when they lost 0:1 at Wacker Innsbruck on last Saturday. Without their two key-players Jürgen Säumel and Klaus Salmutter, who are heart and brain in the midfield of the young Styrians, they couldn't create many chances and Manager Franco Foda said after the game: "We were told how good we for a long time and at the end my players thought, okay then we maybe are already that good. But the truth is that we have to give everything we have like we did last year. Only if we continue that we can be sucessful."
LASK however came out as winner of the OÖ-Derby with a late header from Brazilian Wendel giving them a 1:0-win at home against SV Ried. Jürgen Panis was dismissed with a straight red card in a game which brought three men sent of. Almedin Hota is likely to replace the suspended midfield-Dynamo who is called "Beißer" because of his aggressive play. He made his name all honour with a attempted headbutt without a ball in play.

SV RIED - SK AUSTRIA KÄRNTEN (23/02, 18:00)
SV Ried equally paid a high price in their derby-loss at Linz on Sunday with Sebastian Martinez and Tomasz Rzasa "earning" two yellow cards each from once again controversial Fritz Stuchlik. But Manager Thomas Weissenböck wasn't neither satisfied with his team nor the referee: "We missed a clear chance and the end, but we wouldn't have deserved a point or even a win. If you receive the goal that late it's bitter, but we didn't take care untill the final whistle and were punished for that. Before the break we were playing like in a friendly game, that's too little." With Ernst Dospel they miss a third player because of suspension and Ried know that a home-defeat would bring them down in the fight against relegation.
Austria Kärnten also lost their first game of the new year with two late goals giving Rapid all three points in Klagenfurt. But Manager Klaus Schmidt who missed his new striker Joseph Ngwenya stays confident: "The will of my team was okay. We wanted to win the game, but a wonder goal gave Rapid again the advantage like they did it last time. This was the decision, the 2:0 didn't matter any more. This round didn't go in our way, but we want to win back this points in Ried."

SV MATTERSBURG - FC WACKER INNSBRUCK (23/02, 18:00)
Cem Atan made the headlines this week in Austria. But in Mattersburg they would like that the news about their rocket-man had never made the circuit. The international, who made his debut for the ÖFB-team last year against France, was suspicious of urinate in a bar at his home-town Wiener Neustadt and beating a waiter afterwards. To make things worse it was said that Atan didn't cause problems there for the first time and even police officers confirmed that he was known to the athorities before. Club-executive Martin Pucher and Manager Franz Lederer questioned their midfielder, but he denied the reprovals. A defeat in Salzburg and the suspension of defender Alexander Pöllhuber did the rest to make their faces sour.
Wacker Innsbruck had some worries too, but this was a different story. Besian Idrizaj who arrived on loan from Liverpool after a miserable spell at Crystal Palace in the League Championship had a nightmare debut when he broke down on the field and was taken to the hospital. He isn't allowed to play and scans will show if he can return to the team in the next weeks. Thorsten Knabel gave Innsbruck at least something to celebrate with his header proving decisive for a 1:0-home-win against Sturm Graz. But Wacker has to do without their suspended midfield-genius Vaclav Kolousek in Mattersburg, Michael Madl and Florian Mader are also out, Dennis Mimm will play with a face mask after a fracture of the nose bone.

FK AUSTRIA - RED BULL SALZBURG (23/02, 18:00)
"It was like a ice ink" said Austria-Manager Georg Zellhofer after his team just managed a 1:1-draw against Altach at the Franz-Horr-Stadion last Saturay. It was a game like on a inclined plane and the hosts could have scored short after the start but after Altach-keeper Mario Krassnitzer who slipped to the ground and miskicked the ball Florian Metz suffered the same misfortune and missed the glorious chance to gave them a dream-start. Things were upside down when the visitors took a total surprise-lead and only a header from Hannes Aigner after good work from super-sub Rubin Okotie saved them a point. But the lie two points behind the leader now and Austria (without Andreas Lasnik who is suspended after five yellow cards) know that a home-defeat would reduce their title-hopes enormous. Red Bull Salzburg showed that they are on course for their title-defense when Marc Janko and striking-partner Alexander Zickler scored before the break, Niko Kovac and Sasa Ilic did the rest to bring them a 4:0-win against Mattersburg. But leaving Manager Giovanni Trapattoni knows that things can be different away: "We must show this achievement again in the games untill the season is finished and then we will have something to celebrate."

SCR ALTACH - SK RAPID (24/02, 15:30)
There is no better opportunity to open the new West-stand then a live-TV-game against record champion SK Rapid for Altach. The Sunday-hit is likely to bring a full house at their small Schnabelholz-ground with a Ticket-campaign "sit instead of stand to the same price" for just 13 Euros. Skipper Enrico Pfister who is stand-in-captain for the injured Kai Schoppitsch sounds gladiatorial: "It is something special to play against Rapid and I and the whole team are really looking forward to it. It is clear that we are out for a win."
The guests from the capital made a flying start to their campaign with a 2:0-win at Austria Kärnten. Erwin "Jimmy" Hoffer is the man to watch, after his two fine goals gave them all three points. "It is brilliant to play for this club and for this fans", said the young striker after reminding of Marco van Basten with his sensation-leading-goal. "I want to keep giving my best and hope that I will stay in the team", was Hoffer looking for a place in the starting line-up again. If he keeps scoring Manager Peter Pacult has no reason to make a change.

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