sâmbătă, 8 iunie 2013

Memories from a sold-out football stadium

Being in touch with sport events belongs to my lifestyle and destiny. I can't remember a day when I neglected following the sport phenomenon. But one thing is to keep in touch with it and another feeling is to be a witness of a live story.

It happened to me yesterday as I entered the Viennese Ernst Happel Stadium. Austria met Sweden in the qualifiers for the football World Cup. No surprise, just as usual, 48.000 fans created a sensational atmosphere. They sang the famous Austrian song "I am from Austria" and emphasised the good mood by clapping the hands for the "Radetzky-Marsch". I took some memorable pictures and expected a highly intense match between two sides which needed the victory in order to keep their chances for the second place in the qualification group.

The spectacular atmosphere brought the expected effect on the developing game. The Swedes began better but a foul of the Scandinavian goalkeeper on the opponent brought a penalty for the home side. Alaba scored for 1-0, the stadium was boiling. Few minutes later, Harnik centrred for a unique header of Janko who lifted the score to 2-0. Quite unbelievable, the crowd loses control.

The second half didn't show much in comparison to the first. The home team tried to maintain the result, the Swedes had less chance to shorten the difference. It happened late in the game that Elmander reduced the score to 2-1, but it seemed to be too late for Ibrakadabra and his mates to achieve a draw in Vienna.

The final whistle caused a real explosion among the supporters who finally saw a great national team with big efforts and huge aims. It remains to be seen if the Austrians will manage to keep the second place in the group until the end of the preliminary round. What I already know is the fact that the people in the sold-out stadium offered an unbelievable experience on a pleasant summer night.





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