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Hosiner and Stanković underline Austria spirit

FK Austria Wien forwards Philipp Hosiner and Marko Stanković spoke to UEFA.com about a "dream come true" and the importance of team spirit ahead of their group stage debut.

Hosiner and Stanković underline Austria spirit
Hosiner and Stanković underline Austria spirit ©UEFA.com

FK Austria Wien forwards Philipp Hosiner and Marko Stankovic could barely contain their excitement when they spoke to UEFA.com about the club's upcoming UEFA Champions League group stage debut.

"It means a lot to us. It is a dream come true. We are all delighted. As a young boy I watched the stars in front of the TV, and now we have made it," said Hosiner, a 24-year-old Austrian international who rattled in 27 goals in 30 Bundesliga appearances last term. 

"Everyone has been dreaming of playing in the best league: that's what I wanted seven or eight years ago when we last played in Europe. So I am very proud we have gone down in history," added strike partner Stankovic.

The Austrian champions dug deep to emerge from a nail-biting play-off against GNK Dinamo Zagreb last month and arrive at this juncture as a team united by belief. "Our best strength is our spirit and passion," said Stanković, 27, who moved to the Austria Arena from US Triestina Calcio in 2010. "We have good individual players, but can only compete on the European stage by pulling together. The victory against Dinamo proved we have a strong bond."

Austria are no strangers to the big occasion, though, having reached the semi-finals of the European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1979. Coming close to repeating that feat became a daunting task when they were pitted with FC Zenit, FC Porto and Club Atlético de Madrid in Group G. "We will definitely enjoy the matches, but we don't just want to put in a good performance, we also want to get some points," Stanković told UEFA.com.

To hear more from Hosiner and Stanković, click on the video player. 

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