Hickersberger asks Austria to call on Spirit of '78 to beat Germany

Not only do they retain a fighting chance in a competition that has already claimed the scalps of Switzerland and defending champions Greece, but they also have a chance to achieve what appeared an impossible dream.

Certainly to those who were actually calling for them to do the decent thing and withdraw before the competition had started.

Aiming high: Josef Hickersberger is hoping to flummox the Germans in Vienna

HICKERSBERGER SUMMONS SPIRIT OF '78   From Mike McGrath, PA Sport, Vienna  

A precious point against Poland gives them the chance to eliminate Germany at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna tonight in what would amount to their proudest moment in 30 years.

'A second Cordoba' is all the Austrians are talking about, the first being a memorable 3-2 victory that sent the then defending champions crashing out of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.

Joachim Loew, the Germany coach, dismisses such talk as an impossibility, insisting with confidence that his side will recover from a crushing defeat against Croatia and then secure the result they need. A draw will do.

'Our team will show a different face, I can promise you,' said Loew.

'It's a setback but it won't throw us off. We will not be going out of the tournament. We won't be thinking of what might happen. Austria will be playing for their lives but we'll get the point we need and we'll reach the quarter-finals.'

Excitement nevertheless flows through the veins of the Austrians even if they are the lowest-ranked team in the tournament. 

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'We need a second Cordoba,' said their
captain, Andreas Ivanschitz.

'That's a piece of history in Austrian football and we are about to rewrite it.'

Their coach, Josef Hickersberger, played in Cordoba but is reluctant to draw comparisons.

'Playing against Germany for me is something special,' he said. 'What happened 30 years ago doesn't play any special role for me. We won in Cordoba but that's as far as it goes.'

Certainly there was no cause for pride in the World Cup four years later when what appeared to be a pre-arranged 1-0 victory in Gijon for Germany over their neighbours allowed both to progress.

The Germans do seem to find themselves in something of a crisis.

After the Croatia game the players called a private meeting for what Michael Ballack revealed was a candid exchange of views.

'It wasn't a crisis meeting but players were able to speak more openly away from the coaches,' said Germany's skipper yesterday.

'Sometimes you need to talk as footballers do, among ourselves.

'The important thing is that any criticism is constructive. You are not out to run anybody down but sometimes you have to say things with a rough edge.

'I know I can play better and should play better. Overall, we haven't played to our full potential.

But we've resolved to give everything on Monday. We're honest enough to be self-critical. But let's look at the positive: at least there's plenty of room for improvement.'

The build-up to the game has not been lacking in controversy. An Austrian tabloid infuriated both teams on Saturday by baiting the Germans with inflammatory headlines and quotes.

They also angered an Austrian team which needs Croatia to beat Poland to advance from Group B and meet Portugal in the quarter-finals.

'We scare the **** out of Germany,' Austria forward Martin Harnik was quoted as saying in the Oesterreich.

'They can stick the FIFA rankings,' team manager Andreas Herzog was reported to have added. He did, however, concede: 'We must not think that the Germans fear us — they don't. They will come out completely different compared to the Croatia match.

'They always do well in decisive tournament matches. They may be big-mouthed at times but then they deliver the goods on the field.

'We won't change dramatically just because we are playing Germany. We must play compact. Every player has to go beyond himself, perform more than a 100 per cent. Over the last two years many were laughing at us because we only were at the European Championship because we were hosting it. It's great that we are still in with a chance of advancing.

'We've proven impressively that we can play some good football.'Austria coach Josef Hickersberger wants to roll back the years and inflict another giantkilling on Germany. 

Hickersberger was a player in 1978 when Austria defeated West Germany to knock them out of the World Cup, and his players have the chance to do the same at Euro 2008 tomorrow evening at Ernst Happel Stadium. 

The parallels are that Austria were tipped to fail 30 years ago, as they were ahead of the current tournament they have been co-hosting.