Leipzig's Baumgartner: Showing what skiers can do
Christoph Baumgartner from RB Leipzig has a few light-hearted remarks ahead of the test match with Germany. "I really like scoring for Austria in the Happel Stadium. Why not against the Germans too?" said the 24-year-old ahead of the international match on Tuesday (20:45/ZDF) in Vienna. The Austria team has qualified for the European Championship ahead of time and has gained confidence under German coach Ralf Rangnick. The midfielder, who moved to Leipzig from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the summer, also makes this clear.
"Of course it's something special, perhaps even more so for us Austrians than for the Germans. The big brother is always there and we Austrians like to measure ourselves against him. Unfortunately, we often get the short end of the stick, but we will try. We're not without a chance, we've played well in qualifying, we're in a good mood and we're a really great team. We'll make it as difficult as possible for Germany and make sure we win the game," said Baumgartner.
He also believes his team has a good chance of springing a surprise at next summer's European Championships. "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. The tournament in Germany somehow feels like a home European Championships to him. "Even if the Austrians might not like to hear it."
Baumgartner mentioned his excitement about potentially scoring against Germany's national team, as his Austrian team has already qualified for the European Championships. In the upcoming tournament, he expressed that their aim isn't just to participate, but to "show what skiers can do" and make a surprise impact, even if playing in Germany feels like a home championship for Austria, albeit perhaps an unwelcome sentiment for some Austrians.
Source: www.dpa.com
