Neulengbach show their talent
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Article summary
SV Neulengbach only set up their women's team in 1996 but they were soon in the Austrian Bundesliga and have been champions for the last five years.
Article body
With the second qualifying round of the UEFA Women's Cup starting next month, uefa.com is taking a detailed look at each of the 16 clubs looking to progress to the quarter-finals and beyond. Today, Austrian champions SV Neulengbach.
SV Neulengbach were founded in 1923, and set up their women's team in 1996. In their first season they were champions of Austria's second division east, and were promoted to the Bundesliga.
Swift rise
In their debut top-flight campaign they finished fifth of eight teams and reached the Austrian Cup final, losing 3-1 to Union Kleinmünchen, who then pipped Neulengbach to the league title the following season. Neulengbach were now fixtures in the top three and were runners-up again in 2000/01 and 2001/02.
Dominance
Finally, in 2002/03, they claimed the championship, winning all their 18 matches and scoring 120 goals with just five against. The Wienerwald club retained the title the next season and in 2004/05 again ended with a 100 per cent record, something they repeated last term in clinching a fifth straight crown - all of them turned into domestic doubles with Austrian Cup victories.
European experience
Their domestic dominance has earned them European competition, and their 2003/04 debut in the UEFA Women's Cup was spectacular as they beat Cypriot side Ledra 14-0, Slovakia's FK MŠK Žiar nad Hronom 6-3 and Macedonian champions ZFK Lombardini Skopje 7-0 to move through the qualifying round. In the next group stage, Athletic Club BFKEB and 1. FFC Frankfurt proved too tough, though a win against Portugal's SU 1° Dezembro was a consolation, and while they started with a victory against the same team a year later, a loss to Montpellier HSC proved costly despite a defeat of University College Dublin WFC.
Internationals
That Irish side were Neulengbach's first victims in 2005/06 and they then overcame ŽNK Maksimir and held ASD CF Bardolino to go through, but Saestum, Montpellier and 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam beat them in the second qualifying round. Last season Breidablik beat Neulengbach to go through although 1° Dezembro were defeated again. This season Hibernian LFC, Mayo FC and Ucziniowski Klub Sportowy 'GOL' were dispatched to earn progress, and Neulengbach can now boast eight internationals in their ranks, notably Brazil winger Rosana, player of the tournament in winning silver at the 2004 Olympic Games.