Austria finals given thumbs-up

As it draws to a close, the UEFA Under-19 European Championship is being hailed as a massive success in Austria.

Dress rehearsal
Seen as a dress rehearsal for co-hosting UEFA EURO 2008™ with Switzerland, the finals have been a great barometer of Austria's passion for football. Recent surveys suggested that half of all Austrians are interested in football, and that 85 per cent of those who were fans of the game were looking forward to UEFA EURO 2008™. However, those statistics have come to life at the U19 finals.

Fan support
Despite temperatures of up to 40C, thousands of Austrian fans abandoned their sun loungers and joined scouts from the continent's top clubs to watch Europe's leading youngsters showcase their skills. "In the first four matches more than 25,000 people came to the stadiums," said tournament director Willi Ruttensteiner. "This figure not only excited us but also impressed UEFA."

'Perfect organisation'
UEFA was just as impressed with the organisation of the tournament, played in Linz, Pasching, Steyr and Ried in Upper Austria. "According to UEFA competition head Claudio Negroni the Austrian tournament was the best in his era, with a fantastic atmosphere and perfect organisation," beamed Ruttensteiner, who told local radio: "The UEFA gala at the St. Florian monastery was the social highlight of the tournament and gave a first impression of what social events will be like at EURO 2008™."

New optimism
Austrian Football Association president Friedrich Stickler and senior national team coach Josef Hickersberger were both among the 12,000 supporters who attended Austria's opening game in Linz - a 2-0 defeat by Spain - and both were impressed with the atmosphere. "Linz has truly proven to be a good venue for football," Hickersberger said.

'Yielding fruit'
The finals coincided with the elder generation's impressive performance at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, where they finished fourth, and while the U19 side picked up just one point from their three Group A games, there was plenty of grounds for optimism. "Our youth projects are obviously yielding fruit. Whether the senior team can profit from it has yet to be seen," Austrian state TV station ÖRF reported on its website.

Austrian passion
With the senior side in the doldrums at the moment, having not won a game in 2007, the performance of the younger selections has also helped buoy Austrian spirits. Linz's local newspaper Oberösterreichische Rundschau wrote: "Our U20 team's results and the U19 finals in Upper Austria have finally aroused some enthusiasm for football." The challenge for the alpine nation now is to keep that passion building over the months to come.