Neulengbach battling against the odds
Tuesday 3 November 2009
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While most of the UEFA Women's Champions League round of 16 contenders are from the traditional nations like Germany, Sweden and Denmark, SV Neulengbach are flying the flag for Austria. On Wednesday they welcome ASD Torres Calcio of Italy for the first leg of their tie but coach Olga Hutter – whose club have won the last seven league titles – spoke to uefa.com about the development of the game in her country.
uefa.com: How do you rate women's football in Austria?
Olga Hutter: In Austria, women's football is a minority sport. The situation within the Austrian Football Association is improving more and more every year, but among the public women's football is not taken notice of.
uefa.com: But Austria was one of the first countries to establish a women's football club...
Hutter: In my profession as a teacher I have often had the experience that parents don't think of football as a suitable sport for their daughters. The situation has improved somewhat in that regard. In Austria, skiing is the biggest thing, as the big successes are won there. That's another thing we are suffering from.
uefa.com: What are the main problems?
Hutter: How am I supposed to develop a footballer, if her employer doesn't even allow her to go on holidays for the matches? That's a huge problem. The players aren't professionals, so they cannot fully concentrate on their sport. This can only change through public interest and sponsors. Some players are working as a saleswomen until 6pm and then are expected to perform in training at 7pm. To be honest, this simply doesn't work. Here at Neulengbach we train three times a week. That's simply not enough.
uefa.com: How strong is the Austrian Bundesliga?
Hutter: It is different every year. USC Landhaus are our greatest competitors. They have rejuvenated their side, most of the young talents from Vienna join that club. But it takes some years for a team to grow. My team has the advantage of having lots of international experience. Even though we lose Champions League games, we learn a lot while doing so. That helps us in the Bundesliga then.
uefa.com: What are your goals as a coach?
Hutter: It would be a dream come true if one day I turn on the TV and see live coverage of a match of Austria's women's team. I played for the former Czechoslovakia, and all our home matches were shown live on television. While the kick-off times were peculiar, we still were shown on TV. I would like more people in Austria to recognise women's football. Of course, I would also like to win the Champions League with Neulengbach, but that's not realistic.
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