Having started the tournament with great ambitions, the Austrians had to return home after the round of 16. But everything would have been in place for the big coup.
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- Austria is eliminated in the European Championship round of 16 against Turkey. The disappointment is huge for the secret favorites.
- Christoph Baumgartner, who missed a top chance shortly before the end, called July 2 "one of the saddest days of my life".
- The neutral spectator will miss it, the attacking style of play of the Austrians, who started the tournament as the secret favorites and who got rid of the "secret" a little more with every game.
Christoph Baumgartner weeps bitter tears, buries his face in David Alaba's shoulders and sobs. Marcel Sabitzer and Stefan Posch have empty looks on their faces, Marko Arnautovic and Philipp Lienhart hang their heads. The Austrians stood like poodles in the rain in Leipzig late on Tuesday evening in front of their fan curve, receiving consolation from the fans who had traveled with them, before clearing the field to the applause of the opposing team and leaving the stage to the Turks.
But it should have been the other way around. Austria under coach Ralf Rangnick: A pressing machine that gives the opponent hardly any space to develop. A team that stands for attractive attacking football. A team that did not allow itself to be unsettled by a poor start to the tournament. Who were the clear favorites against Turkey and whose first-ever appearance in a European Championship quarter-final seemed a formality.
The inconsolable Baumgartner
But then came Merih Demiral, who was once regarded as one of the greatest defensive talents in Europe, was to mature into a world-class player at Juventus Turin, but succumbed to the lure of big money in his mid-twenties and moved to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia - and plunged Austria into a valley of tears with two goals after Cornern.
"When you see how much we invested in this game today and how many scoring chances we missed, the whole thing feels pretty grotesque and surreal," said Austria national coach Ralf Rangnick after the game. Goalscorer Michael Gregoritsch spoke of a "football tragedy that cannot be surpassed", while central defender Maximilian Wöber spoke of "an emptiness".
Christoph Baumgartner called July 2 "one of the saddest days in my life". The 24-year-old from RB Leipzig was the tragic figure of this round of 16 match. When he conceded an early goal, he was unable to clear the ball on the line. A little later, his shot narrowly missed the left post. Finally, in the last minute of stoppage time, Baumgartner was completely free to head home from five meters out and actually did everything right. But Mert Günok in the Turkish goal made the save of the tournament, the save of his life, and deflected the shot around the post. "An incredible save from him, you can only congratulate him," said Baumgartner. "It's extremely bitter for me and for us, but that's football. It's very difficult to stand up after a game like that and look at people's faces because you know you've let them down somewhere."
A missed opportunity
Disappointed yes, but also entertained. Hardly any other team has inspired people with their football as much as the Austrians. Rangnick summed it up aptly: "They were four mega-entertaining games, mega-intense. In contrast, there were other games where I struggled to stay awake in front of the TV. That wasn't the case with our games."
The neutral viewer will miss the attacking style of play of the Austrians, who started the tournament as the secret favorites and who got rid of the "secret" a little more with each game.
But now the Turks are celebrating, having made amends for their 6-1 defeat in Vienna in March and can dream of a major coup instead of the Austrians. "Alaba said that moments like this make you stronger," said Baumgartner once he had regained his composure. "But in moments like that, it's hard to accept anything because the disappointment is so great. So much could have been possible." Not just in this game, but in this tournament.
SDA
