Rapid reign in Austria

By Raimund Fabi

SK Rapid Wien celebrated their first Austrian Bundesliga title in nine years - despite losing their final three games.

Victory confirmed
A 4-1 home win against SW Bregenz on 14 May put Rapid in sight of their 31st championship, confirmed when FK Austria Wien were held 1-1 at SV Pasching the next day. Rapid's lead stood at nine points, but was cut to one with defeats by SV Austria Salzburg, Austria and Grazer AK.

GAK run
Deposed champions GAK pipped Austria to second spot after producing an excellent finish, going unbeaten in their last 12 league fixtures. That included a win at Austria, which was awarded 3-0 to GAK despite the game being abandoned - with that scoreline - due to a pitch invasion. The teams also drew 0-0 in Graz three days later, while GAK's only reverse was a 4-1 defeat by Rapid in the Austrian Cup last four, ending their grip on the trophy.

Cup final
In the final Rapid meet Austria, who stumbled in their league campaign having led with a month to go and finished third, a point behind GAK. However, a 3-0 win against second division FC Kärnten took them into the cup final on Wednesday.

Derby result
Austria's 1-0 derby success last week against Rapid gave them hope ahead of that final, having previously lost Czech midfielder Štepán Vachoušek to a serious knee injury in late April. Goalkeeper Joseph Didulica is out of the final too having received an eight-game suspension for breaking the nose of Rapid's Axel Lawaree.

Pasching slip
Pasching, who will go into the UEFA Cup as both domestic cup finalists have secured European berths through the Bundesliga, led for much of the season but slipped late on, securing only two points in their last three matches.

Ambitious Salzburg
Lower down, Salzburg finished ninth, but a sponsorship agreement with Red Bull gives them the budget to achieve better things next term, starting with the signing of Christian Mayrleb, whose 21 goals for Pasching saw him finish as the league's leading scorer. Also joining from Pasching are Roland Kirchler and Patrik Jezek, along with FC Bayern München's veteran German international defender Thomas Linke.

Ried return
Bregenz were relegated long before the end of the season, and did not win a single game after the winter break. SV Ried return to the top division, promoted after a one-year absence.