AUSTRIA 2019-20 www.liberoguide.com AUSTRIA 2019-20 www.liberoguide.com Football has more than one Bundesliga. A slimmed-down, ten- team Austrian version was created in 1974, from the post-war INTRO Nationalliga. In 2018-19, it expanded to 12 teams, stretching from Altach on the Swiss border to Vienna alongside Hungary, a distance of well over 600km. But for the first three decades of the 20th century, only Viennese teams Welcome to liberoguide.com! competed for the Austrian title. True, The digital travel guide for these historic clubs – today known football fans, liberoguide.com as Rapid, Austria and Admira – were is the most up-to-date resource, among Europe’s best between the city-by-city, club-by-club, to the wars. game across Europe and North America. Using only original The first provincial side to win the photos and first-hand research, league were LASK Linz, as late as taken and undertaken over seven 1965. Although the all-time roll of seasons, liberoguide.com has honour weighs heavily in Vienna’s been put together to enhance favour, Rapid way ahead on 32 league every football weekend and Euro crowns, the country’s best-supported night experience. From airport club have only gained three titles from to arena, downtown sports bar the 1990s onwards. Austria, equally, to hotel, liberoguide.com helps three since 1993. you get the best out of your visit to football’s furthest corners and LASK With so much attention focused on showcase stadiums. another Bundesliga over the border, whose ski resorts draw focus away from and average gates in Austria below football for several months of the year. AUSTRIA 2019-20 7,000, sponsorship is paramount, The other traditionally strong provincial CONTENTS which is why so many clubs change side, Wacker Innsbruck, were relegated Station to stadium and add names regularly. Admira in 2019 but their stadium, the Tivoli- National carrier Austrian Airlines 1-3 Intro 13 Graz 21 Mattersburg currently operate as Fußballklub Neu, a Euro 2008 venue, is staging (austrian.com), BA and the main 4-6 Vienna 14 Sturm Graz 22 SV Mattersburg Flyeralarm Admira Wacker Mödling. Bundesliga games in 2019-20 as budgets fly to Vienna, Innsbruck and 7 Ernst Happel Stadion 15 Hartberg 23 Salzburg modest neighbours Wattens are using Salzburg, particularly during the skiing 8 Admira 16 TSV Hartberg 24 Red Bull Salzburg It also highlights why Red Bull at as their home ground. Now going season. These also include Lauda 9 Austria Vienna 17 Innsbruck 25 St Pölten 18 WSG Tirol/Wattens 26 SKN St Pölten Salzburg, buzzing with energy- by the name of WSG Swarovski Tirol, (laudamotion.com/la/en), created by 10 Rapid Vienna 11 Altach 19 Linz 27 Wolfsberg drink euros, have won every single the club is a typical Austrian story of the famous Austrian Grand-Prix driver, 12 SCR Altach 20 LASK 28 Wolfsberger AC Bundesliga but three since 2006, and mergers and sponsored rebranding a low-cost airline now linked with six in a row up to and including 2019. – and all backdropped by the Tyrol, Ryanair. liberoguide.com 1 AUSTRIA 2019-20 www.liberoguide.com finishing third, a berth in the EL third qualifying round for fourth place – if INTRO it’s passed down from the Austrian Cup winners finishing higher. Fifth is more complicated… In the relegation round, for which teams have also carried over half their points LINZ ST PÖLTEN VIENNA (rounded down if necessary) from the earlier stage of the season, the team St Pölten finishing bottom goes straight down to SALZBURG the second-tier 2. Liga. MATTERSBURG Clubs finishing top and second of the relegation round play a one-game ALTACH decider at the home ground of the INNSBRUCK HARTBERG higher team, the so-called Europa League play-off semi-final. The winner GRAZ then meets the fifth-placed team from the championship round in the two-leg WOLFSBERG Europa League play-off final. Away goals count double – which is how Sturm Graz made the second qualifying round of the Europa League in 2019. Public transport into and around which you need a vignette, minimum Top-flightBundesliga consists of 12 Austrian Cup winners also qualify for cities is excellent. For travel around fee €9.40 for ten days, available as teams, who play each other home and the Europa League – but if their league the country, Austrian rail (oebb.at/ a sticker or in a digital version. On away until the table is divided after off stage. At the end of the season, if performance already entitles them to a en) have an efficient online booking certain stretches, particularly those 22 games each. The top six go to the they had finished level with LASK, who European slot, the losing finalists don’t service, with attractive advance with tunnels, toll gates also operate. championship round, the bottom six, had won 46 points and carried over 23 automatically inherit their berth. prices. Drivers can pay in cash, by credit card the relegation round, where teams to the play-off stage, that half-point Red or online through ASFINAG (shop. again play each other home and away. Bull had lost would have been given Only the champions of the 16-team 2. National bus company Postbus asfinag.at/en), which also distributes Points obtained up until then are halved back to them. Liga gain promotion to the Bundesliga. (postbus.at/en) cover a lot of rural vignettes. and rounded down, but this half-point Often, a handful of teams cannot go up Austria untouched by rail, and often difference is taken into account should The champions go through to the anyway as they don’t fulfil the Austria FA provide a local service within towns. Tables & trophies two teams finish level after the play- Champions League group stage, the criteria and gain the necessary licence. The Austrian league system runs from off campaign. So, in 2019, Red Bull runners-up to the third qualifying Farm teams, most notably Red Bull Austria is linked by a network of the top two professional divisions to the Salzburg finished the first stage with 55 round. Entry to the Europa League Salzburg’s FC Liefering, are also exempt. Autobahns and Schnellstraßen, for lowest district level. points and carried 27 over to the play- group stage is granted to the team Clubs play each other home and away. liberoguide.com 2 AUSTRIA 2019-20 www.liberoguide.com Below the 2. Liga is the third-tier, three- division Regionalligen: Regionalliga INTRO Ost (Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland), Regionalliga Mitte (Upper Austria, Carinthia and Styria) and Regionalliga West (Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg), of 16 teams each. In theory, the bottom three of the 2. Liga swap places with the champions of each Regionalliga but clubs losing their licence may drop down first. These three tiers, Bundesliga, 2. Liga the 12 in the Bundesliga, 16 in the 2. and Regionalligen, constitute the Liga and qualifiers from intra-regional Österreichische Fußballmeisterschaft, preliminary rounds. Regions are granted the Austrian Football Championship. the number of participants according to status: 15 for Lower Austria, four for Around three teams from each Vorarlberg. Regionalliga – allowing for external forces such as withdrawn licences and Games take place midweek. Home bankruptcies – swap places with the advantage for lesser clubs is dropped winners of the nine Landesligen, one for from the Second Round, unless they are each region listed in the Regionalligen amateur. Clubs taking part in European above – Lower Austria, Burgenland, and competitions are exempt until the Third so on. For Vienna, this fourth tier is the Round in late October. The semi-finals in League play-offs take place in late May. or early evening, and a 10.30am slot is Prices usually run from €20-€40, Wiener Stadtliga. Each consists of 16 or April are also decided after one game. Match times are 5pm on a Saturday or usually reserved for Sunday. with Topspiele, marquee fixtures, 14 clubs. Sunday, sometimes switched to 2.30pm adding another €5 on top. The final usually takes place in Vienna at the chillier ends of the season. With Entry level Below are lower levels of Landesligen, but not always – a healthy crowd of only six fixtures to play every weekend, Most clubs attract crowds in the low Stands (Tribünen) are usually with systems of promotion and 24,000 witnessed Red Bull’s victory over scheduling is rarely a problem. thousands, with Rapid pushing the designated according to geography, relegation according to region. Rapid in Klagenfurt in 2019. average up towards 6-7,000 with their so Nordtribüne, Südtribune, The 2. Liga also starts in late July but has 18,000-20,000 gates most weeks. Osttribüne Westtribüne, the main The ÖFB-Cup attracts far less interest Season’s dealings a longer winter break – early December Availability, therefore, isn’t an issue. one being Haupttribüne. Gästesektor than the league. In July, just before the The Bundesliga season runs from to later in February. With no play-offs, is the away section, Heimfansektor league season, 64 teams contest the late July to mid December then, after fixtures finish in late May. Most games Nearly all clubs distribute online, or Fankurve the home end. Most First Round, games played at the ground a two-month winter break, from mid are played on a Friday evening – 7.10pm sell through the club shop during the stadiums are all-seated but of the lower-placed club, decided on February to mid May. The initial rounds the classic kick-off time but 6.30pm or week and operate ticket windows on Stehplätze, standing places, are still the day, by extra-time and penalties of 22 games finish in early March before 8.30pm can also happen.