Austria coach: Josef Hickersberger
The 60-year-old, a quiet figure renowned for his precise analysis and ability to work well with young players, began his second spell at the Austria helm in January 2006.
In his first spell he led the team to the 1990 World Cup but stepped down after an embarrassing 1-0 loss to the Faroe Islands in a Euro 92 qualifier.
He subsequently worked in the Middle East, including a spell with the Bahraini national side, then led Rapid Wien to the Austrian league title in 2005 and into the Champions League. Had a successful playing career with such clubs as Austria Wien and Rapid. Played for Austria at the 1978 World Cup.
How would you define a successful campaign?
Success means achieving the optimum with the given means. To me, that would be reaching the quarter-final stage.
Austria’s chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, believes your team can win the title…
Our chancellor is a die-hard optimist. He is a great football fan and Rapid Wien supporter. Since I led Rapid from eighth place to the title and into the Champions League, he believes I can work wonders.
So will you be able to work wonders?
Our group rivals – Germany, Croatia and Poland – have great teams, especially Germany, who have developed nicely under Jogi Low. We are counting on our home support and the fact that the pressure is on the others. The team that loses to us won’t make it to the next stage.
What will be the biggest problem for your team?
The [slow] tempo of our domestic league has long been a problem internationally. That’s why we have been playing big guns in the run-up to the finals to acclimatise to the tempo.
Austria are 94th in the FIFA rankings, behind teams such as Armenia and Libya. How come?
It has a lot to do with the fact that we have not played any qualifiers recently. Moreover, Austrian football has long failed to look after youth development, hoping instead for the new Herbert Prohaska, Hans Krankl or Bruno Pezzey to emerge outof the blue.
Youth development seems to have improved lately since Austria finished fourth at last year’s Under-20 World Cup.
Yes, and four players from that squad have already made their debuts at senior level. We must use Euro 2008 as a shop window for our young talents, so they can go abroad to learn their trade and then return to form a strong national team – like it was in the Seventies.
How do you deal with criticism?
Every coach has to cope with at least 10,000 assistant coaches in the stands and even more in front of the telly. If you don’t get a result, you are under fire. But I have been in the business for 40 years, so I don’t care about criticism any more, only about qualified statements.
Nonetheless, you were on the verge of being sacked.
I knew we had to win against Ivory Coast [last October; Austria did win, 3-2] following our losing streak. I understand it’s the facts that matter. However, it is sad that nobody remembered that we nearly drew with World Cup runners-up France in Paris or were two minutes away from beating World Cup finalists Ghana.
Do you need to be a masochist to be a coach?
Suffering is certainly part of my job.
But it seems to be worse in Austria.
Here the difference between claim and reality is much bigger than elsewhere in Europe.
What was your greatest defeat in a personal context – the 1-0 loss to the Faroe Islands [in the Euro 92 qualifiers]?
No, quitting law school. I just did not have the stamina to continue studying alongside playing football.
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