“In modern football you always have to run in two directions – forwards and backwards”: That is one of the famous quotes from Heribert Weber, players, coaches, experts, legends – and homeowners. “I have now become a great gardener and have a lot to do, I have to manage a very large slope. It’s fun, but it’s also a lot of work, ”said Weber in a birthday interview with ORF Styria.
Record holder and thinker
Heribert Weber has played 573 Bundesliga games in Austria – more than anyone else, twice in a European Cup final. He was at a World Cup twice, and also shone as a trainer and analyst.
Weber retired from the active football business two years ago: “The older you get, the more you think about the time in which you played football yourself. You have the time, as an active you don’t have it. And then it’s nice to be asked about it often, ”said Weber.
From Pöls to the big stadiums
Another nickname snapped the book printer apprentice from Pöls: in 1973 the curly head docked in a storm; in Salzburg and especially in Vienna at Rapid, he caused a sensation. “When I got to storm, everyone called me ‘Gscherten’ from Upper Styria. And when I came to Rapid from Sturm Graz, I was the ‘Gscherte’ again, ”said Weber.
Sport and fun
Weber is the only Styrian who is a member of Rapids’ team of the century: he spent eleven years as a player with the Hütteldorfer family, almost five years with Salzburg and Sturm. The result: 57 Bundesliga goals, five championship titles – four with Rapid, one with Salzburg.
“The fact is that we had a very good time and a lot of fun. And the connection between sport and fun makes it possible to be able to play football as successfully as we did. “
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