Before the test duel with Germany, Christoph Baumgartner from RB Leipzig has a few casual sayings ready.
“I really enjoy scoring for Austria in the Happel Stadium. Why not against the Germans?” said the 24-year-old before the international match on Tuesday (8:45 p.m./ZDF) in Vienna. The Austria team qualified early for the European Championships and gained self-confidence under German coach Ralf Rangnick. The midfielder, who moved from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim to Leipzig in the summer, also makes this clear.
“Of course it’s something special, perhaps a little more so for us Austrians than for the Germans. Always there, the big brother, with whom we Austrians like to compete. Unfortunately, we often lose out, but we’ll try. “We don’t have a chance, we played a good qualifying game, we’re in a good mood and we’re a really great team. We’ll make it as difficult as possible for Germany and see that we win the game too,” said Baumgartner.
He also sees his team as having good opportunities to cause a surprise at the European Championships next summer. “We’re not going here just to be there, we want to show what we skiers can do. Then we’ll see how far we can go,” said Baumgartner. For him, the tournament in Germany somehow feels like a home European Championship. “Even if the Austrians might not like to hear it that much.”