It’s a kind of magic

A commentary on the current standings in the Bundesliga, inspired by Queen.

One prize, one goal
One golden glance of what should be

Saturday, November 7, 5:45 pm. Referee Schörgenhofer blows the whistle at the end of the „big game“ of the 15th round in the Austrian Bundesliga – Austria Wien against Red Bull Salzburg. After 90 exciting and closely contested minutes, the game finishes with a rather fair 1-1 draw, Kevin Friesenbichler once again scoring a crucial goal for the violets – for the fourth time in recent weeks.

Satisfied grins, applause, standing ovations. When was the last time we were this happy with a draw? When did a look at the league table last cause anything other than anger, worry or frustration?

Exactly – 3 years ago, during 2012/2013, when we won the league the last time.

At the moment, nobody dares to pronounce the „C-word“ aloud, let alone declare it to be the goal for the season.
In each interview, Thorsten Fink takes pains to downplay the media and the fans‘ expectations. It’s still a long time to go. Even finishing third at the end of May would be a great success compared to the last two seasons which we screwed up in every possible way.

But still – since the derby victory at the end of October, but even more after the away game in Mattersburg when we went top of the league – thoughts start creeping in which we haven’t had in a while.

We have a manager with a clear game plan who knows what his players are capable of and appreciates every single one. A defense which, after a few howlers, has learned how to play together well – led by an increasingly secure and sometimes even ruthless central defender.  Midfielders, half a year ago denounced as a waste of money, who have turned into cornerstones of a system which hasn’t always been the most attractive, but proves to be very efficient. A very young striker who had to find his footing in the Premiership, but who, since his rather beautiful winner in the derby, is full of self-confidence. And in the midst of it all, a creative, skilled midfielder whose abilities now amaze us week in, week out – and who knows how to play brilliant passes.

Have we been here before?

The waiting seems eternally
The day will dawn of sanity
Ooh ooh ooh ooh
Is this a kind of magic?
It’s a kind of magic
There can be only one

It’s still early days, we haven’t even reached the half-way stage. Red Bull – as always, the big favourites for the title – will be hard, but not impossible to beat. Nobody knows how long our archrivals from the western suburbs will have to bridge the gap between Europa League and Premiership football. And of course, you should never underestimate Sk Sturm Graz,  currently as usual the picture of inconsistency, in the second half of the season.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere in Vienna-Favoriten couldn’t be more different, compared to last year.

Optimism, pride in the team’s achievements, joy at having a capable, modern manager – and excitement for the next game – abound.

It’s not exaggerated to say events since the beginning of October feel kind of magical. Not even the biggest optimists could have predicted such a quick (I will never use the synonym beginning with R here) turnaround of fortunes.

Finally, football is fun again.

Who knows where this season might lead us?

• Veröffentlicht in: liga
• Mit Tag(s) versehen: überlegungen, fanleben