European Football Cup 2008’s Weblog

Legend has it that Ernst Happel, after whom the magnificent stadium in Vienna was renamed in 1992, was a man of few words. Very few when it came to the final gee-up from the legendary Netherlands coach before his teams left the dressing-room. “Gentlemen, two points” was the gist of it.

Superfluous oratory
The two coaches involved here, Josef Hickersberger and Leo Beenhakker, would not have employed those exact words. After all it is three points that they play for these days. But the same sense that great oratory was superfluous held true. Neither set of players needed stoking up for this one. They had each lost their opening game and a second defeat was something they dared not contemplate.

Lifeline
It had been billed as a ‘do-or-die’ clash in advance – winner stays in, loser goes out. Yet, intriguingly, Germany’s defeat by Croatia had offered a lifeline to the co-host nation. It meant that if Austria were to lose they could still dream of going through to the next round, albeit with a remarkable pair of results on Monday. Not that Hickersberger would have been bothering to explain the maths to his team as the minutes ticked down to the 20.45 start. “Gentlemen, three points” would have been much more appropriate.

Boruc brilliance
The way Poland’s luck has been going, no one would have been surprised had they been consulting airline timetables on the team bus as it weaved through the Vienna suburbs. A succession of injuries has dogged their hopes and even a last-minute replacement, Łukasz Piszczek, was cursed, picking up an injury in training the previous night to rule himself out of contention. Thankfully for Poland’s prospects, Artur Boruc remained in good health. His spirits had been buoyed by the arrival of his first child, a boy, the day before the game and how it showed. For the first 20 minutes, as Austria raided and raided again, the goalkeeper gave a performance of such brilliance that young Alex will be told all about it when he is a little older.

Macho beaten
How Austrian hearts sank as the Celtic FC keeper denied a succession of would-be scorers. Martin Harnik was the unluckiest, thwarted twice in quick succession. At the other end Jürgen Macho remained largely unemployed. Poland had been consigned to defensive duties in the main. Yet when he was called upon seriously for the first time, the AEK Athens FC man could not find any Boruc-like inspiration. Macho was unable to get much in the way of Marek Saganowski’s shot across goal, allowing Roger Guerreiro to tuck the ball away at the far post.

Losing faith
Poland had got away with their defensive mistakes, not so Austria. Now Beenhakker’s men took control of the game while the home nation began to lose faith. Macho pulled off a tremendous double save but then, in added time, a penalty was awarded at the other end. Ivica Vastic – 38 and lauded before the game by his captain Andreas Ivanschitz for his abilty to make an impact off the bench – smashed it home. It had been dramatic right to the end. And both teams can still dream of going through to the last eight.