The Austrian legionaries of the German Bundesliga are currently between European Cup ambitions and relegation concerns.
While one defensive player of all time ensured the only Austrian goals in the top German division, four players were able to excel at the weekend. But also in the 2nd Bundesliga and in north-east Europe, red-white-red professionals tie in with successful times.
Kevin Stöger – Fortuna Düsseldorf
The duel between Dusseldorf and Hoffenheim was not for the faint-hearted: in addition to four goals, controversial VAR decisions and a dismissal cause a heated atmosphere. Fortuna legionnaire Kevin Stöger convinced early on as 2: 2 when he put the 1-0 on a flank after five minutes. With his fifth goal assist, Stöger, together with teammate Erik Thommy, is now the best assist for his team.
Despite a successful pass rate of 89 percent and most successful dribbles in the game, the midfielder cannot be entirely happy: Düsseldorf remains 16th on the relegation ground and will face Dortmund and Leipzig as outsiders in the next rounds.
Stefan Posch – TSG Hoffenheim
The TSG defensive player is also the focus of several times in the competitive thriller. After a free kick, Posch initially failed on the opposing goalkeeper before ex-Salzburg striker Munas Dabbur used the rebound from close range to 1-1.
In the supposed 2-1 of Düsseldorf, the team defender is fouled decisively, the VAR then takes back the goal. In the final phase, the battered defender has to leave the field early on his 50th league appearance. Posch shines like Stöger with a high accuracy (85 percent), Hoffenheim has been unbeaten for four games.
Stefan Ilsanker – Eintracht Frankfurt
As a “ketchup bottle principle”, the Frankfurt professional analyzes his surprising double pack. Actually known as a defensive clearer, Ilsanker hits twice as a joker in the supplementary game against Werder Bremen.
After a substitution in the 81st minute, the Salzburg player only needed 17 seconds for his first Bundesliga goal – one of the fastest joker goals in Bundesliga history. The subsequent duel against Mainz ended less pleasantly: Due to the 0-2 defeat, the team of coach Adi Hütter missed the jump to a single-digit place in the table.
Legionnaire overview 1. Bundesliga (30th matchday):
| Philipp Lienhart | Freiburg | 90 ′ | 1: 0 vs. Gladbach | |
| Stefan Lainer | Gladbach | 90 ′ | 0: 1 vs. Freiburg | |
| Konrad Laimer | Leipzig | 25 ′ | 1: 1 vs. Paderborn | |
| Aleksandar Dragovic | Leverkusen | 90 ′ | 2: 4 vs. Bavaria | |
| Julian Baumgartlinger | Leverkusen | 62 ′ | 1 assist | |
| David Alaba | FC Bayern | 90 ′ | 4: 2 vs. Leverkusen | |
| Kevin Stöger | Dusseldorf | 90 ′ | 1 assist | 2: 2 vs. Hoffenheim |
| Markus Suttner | Dusseldorf | 90 ′ | ||
| Stefan Posch | Hoffenheim | 85 ′ | 1 assist | 2: 2 vs. Dusseldorf |
| Christoph Baumgartner | Hoffenheim | 62 ′ | ||
| Florian Grillitsch | Hoffenheim | 5 ′ | ||
| Martin Hinteregger | Frankfurt | 90 ′ | 0: 2 vs. Mainz | |
| Stefan Ilsanker | Frankfurt | 90 ′ | ||
| Phillipp Mwene | Mainz | 90 ′ | 2: 0 vs. Frankfurt | |
| Karim Onisiwo | Mainz | 15 ′ | 1 assist | |
| Xaver Schlager | Wolfsburg | 83 ′ | 1: 0 vs. Bremen | |
| Christopher Trimmel | Union Berlin | 90 ′ | 1: 1 vs. Schalke | |
| Michael Gregoritsch | Schalke | 58 ′ | 1: 1 vs. Union Berlin | |
| Alessandro Schöpf | Schalke | 90 ′ | ||
| Florian Kainz | Cologne | 79 ′ | 1: 1 vs. Ausgburg |
Robert Zulj – VfL Bochum
At VfL, which has a good shape, everything is running as desired. After just 15 minutes, the ex-Salzburg and Ried player will not let the chance from the penalty spot be taken away. Zulj is also involved in the later final score: his teammate Leitsch heads his corner from the left into the goal.
Bochum has been unbeaten since the restart of the 2nd Bundesliga, but the current balance should only be the beginning. “Nobody should believe that we have already achieved something,” Zulj humbly explains to the kicker.
Tor & Assist: Zulj match winner at Bochum victory
Legionnaire overview, 2nd Bundesliga (matchday 30):
| Martin Fraisl | Sandhausen | 90 ′ | 2: 1 vs. Fürth | |
| Robert Zulj | Bochum | 90 ′ | 1 goal / 1 A. | 2: 0 vs. St. Pauli |
| Mathias Honsak | Darmstadt | 46 ′ | 0: 3 vs. regensburg | |
| Heinz Lindner | Wiesbaden | 90 ′ | 2: 3 vs. Dresden | |
| Georg Margreitter | Nuremberg | 90 ′ | 1: 1 vs. Bielefeld | |
| Nikola Dovedan | Nuremberg | 1′ | ||
| Sasa Kalajdzic | Stuttgart | 75 ′ | 0: 0 vs. Osnabruck | |
| Lukas Gugganig | Osnabruck | 90 ′ | 0: 0 vs. Stuttgart | |
| Konstantin Kerschbaumer | Heidenheim | 69 ′ | 1: 2 vs. Hanover | |
| Philipp Zulechner | Floodplain | 16 ′ | 1: 0 vs. Karlsruhe | |
| Marco Djuricin | Karlsruhe | 90 ′ | 0: 1 vs. Floodplain |
Pending: Hamburg vs. Kiel (Mon., 8.30pm)
Daniel Offenbacher – Suduva Marijampole
Even without the current Grödig coach Heimo Pfeifenberger, the Lithuanian champion remains the Austrian branch of the Baltic States: on the third day of the all-year championship, the series champion is playing his favorite role, Suduva wins 3-1 at Panevezys.
Already after nine minutes, the former WAC professional Daniel Offenbacher leads his team with a left-footed shot, the Croatian ex-storm professional Josip Tadic contributes the 2-0 in the first half. Ex-Austrian Thomas Salamon also comes on a short assignment, while the third Austrian export Mihret Topcagic was missing due to a ban.
Entry picture: Imago.
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