Krankl faces crunch encounters

By Mark Chaplin

To be a football legend in your country is an honour and privilege. To be a football legend and carry your country's hopes as national coach is a rather more cumbersome burden to bear.

Lethal striker
Hans Krankl, a lethal striker for Austria in his 1970s prime, is now piloting their fortunes in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying, and looking to nurture the talents that could make an impression on home soil at UEFA EURO 2008™.

'Great pressure'
"It is a great responsibility to lead your country," he told uefa.com. "And there's great pressure. There are a lot of national coaches in any country; in Austria there are about two to three million of them - and it's clear that they would all like to see different team lineups..."

Austrian hero
The 52-year-old will always sit deeply with his nation's football fans. He rattled in 320 goals in 427 Austrian Bundesliga appearances, and his two goals which helped defeat the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina sealed his place as an all-time hero. That same year, he won the Golden Shoe as Europe's leading goalscorer with 41 strikes for SV Rapid Wien. He then sought his fortune abroad with FC Barcelona, with whom he won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in his first season.

Qualification dreams
After a memorable playing career, Krankl has now been called to the coaching summit in Austria. His expectations remain pragmatic, but the born fighter inside him cherishes the belief that a trip over the border to Germany next summer is still possible. Krankl's charges are currently third in Group 6, although five and four points respectively behind pacemakers England and Poland ahead of back-to-back qualifiers against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday and Vienna next Wednesday.

Welsh encounters
"We will know after the two games against Wales whether we have a chance of qualifying," Krankl told uefa.com. "We have a small chance if we can win the spring games. We played well in the autumn; we were very unlucky against Poland, and fought hard in Northern Ireland before conceding a 94th-minute equaliser.

World Cup focus
"At the moment, we can't think about EURO 2008™ because we have the duty - and the right - to fight for a place in the World Cup in 2006. All is not yet lost, but if we lose one of the two matches against Wales then we will have to change our plans and look forward to 2008."

England tipped
Krankl rates England - who Austria held 2-2 - as the group favourites, but is respectful of Poland's potential. "They've won three away games, and that's a bonus for them, but I can't say that we were worse than Poland when we lost against them in the autumn. England were the favourites for me, and have proved why, because they are top of the group."

Public expectations
If Austria do launch a late charge for qualification, Krankl will be delighted, but he has taken great pains to dampen public expectations. "On the one hand, my career as a player gives me the experience that some coaches are unable to gather in their whole lifetime," he admits. "But on the other hand, I have noticed that because I played for Barcelona and 70 times for Austria, people expect me to bring success [to Austria as coach]. Ours is a small country, and miracles are expected - but that's not possible, and I try to tell people this as much as I can."