Österreichischer Fußball-Bund - last updated on 1 June 2008
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Association name: Österreichischer Fußball-Bund
Foundation: 1904
Confederation UEFA
Colours: Red, white and black
Website: www.oefb.at
Honours:
Österreichischer Fußball-Bund has currently no honours.
A bit of history:
In the 1930's their Wunderteam swept all before them, recording 21 victories in 31 games and reaching the semi-finals at Italy '34, only to be denied a place in the final through a 0-1 defeat at the hands of the hosts. Austria finished the tournament in fourth place.
Their finest hour was undoubtedly the 1954 FIFA World Cup in neighbouring Switzerland when they defeated two-time champions Uruguay in the third place play-off to record their highest ever finish. However, their sweetest victory came Argentina 1978 when they defeated neighbours Germany for the first time in 47 years. The famous 3-2 victory in Cordoba included two goals from current coach Hans Krankl - one of which was the winner.
Austria's recent FIFA World Cup history is less glorious. Eliminated in the group stage at Italia 1990 and France 1998, they failed even to qualify for Asia's first finals. After finishing second in their qualifying group they came up against, and lost out to, a very talented Turkish side in the play-offs. There was not even the comfort of such a near miss in qualifying for Germany 2006, with the Austrians finishing 10 points behind England and nine adrift of Poland in their preliminary section.
Failing to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in neighbouring Germany not only meant that Austria missed out on taking part in the world's greatest football tournament, but it also spelled the end of Hans Krankl's tenure as coach. Since Austria qualified automatically as one of the two host nations, they have been playing a series of friendlies since the end of 2005.
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
Österreichischer Fußball-Bund
