Rapid raise the pulse

By Thomas Zeh

At the start of the season, one thing seemed certain in Austria - FK Austria Wien would successfully defend their title. With resources that dwarfed those of their competitors, Austria held all the aces, while fallen giants SK Rapid Wien were predicted by most to be going nowhere.

Unbeaten run
Fast forward ten weeks and Josef Hickersberger's young Rapid side are topping the table, after going unbeaten in their first nine games before Grazer AK ended their run with a 2-0 defeat at the weekend.

On fire
Founded in 1899 by hat factory workers in the working-class district of Hütteldorf, Rapid are the most successful side in the history of Austrian football. Since 1996, however, they have failed to add to their 30 domestic titles, prompting a recent painful process of rebuilding.

Low point
Two years ago, under current FK Partizan coach Lothar Matthäus, Rapid hit a real low point. After finishing the 2001/02 campaign in a dismal eighth place in the ten-team table, Hickersberger was brought in to clean up the mess at the club in May 2002.

Herzog snubbed
He immediately antagonised the club's supporters by replacing long-serving Czech goalkeeper Ladislav Maier with unknown youngster Helge Payer and demoting to the substitutes' bench crowd-favourite Andreas Herzog - who had recently returned from a long spell at SV Werder Bremen. Back problems were restricting Herzog, Austria's most capped international, and Hickersberger concluded that he was hindering the opportunities for new talent at Rapid.

Career nadir
Many predicted that the coach was about to preside over the second major disappointment of his long career. Hickersberger had led Austria to the finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup only to be dismissed a few months later when his side lost 1-0 to the Faroe Islands.

Media speculation
The power battle over Herzog and Rapid's failure to qualify for Europe after they finished fourth in 2002/03 fuelled speculation about the coach's future, but Hickersberger continued on his path and rejuvenated his team step by step.

International class
With an average age of just 26, Rapid are now the youngest team in the Bundesliga and key players like Payer (24), defender Ferdinand Feldhofer (23) and striker Roman Wallner (21) - arguably the country's most promising goalscorer since Hans Krankl - have all been called up for international duty.

New generation
The 19-year-old Andreas Ivanschitz and 23-year-old team captain Steffen Hofmann are now filling Herzog's role, but such youngsters are already under pressure as Austrian Under-19 star Roman Kienast leads a new generation of academy graduates demanding first-team status.

Attendance boom
To their supporters' delight, the new-look Rapid play exciting, attacking football and, with average attendances across Austria up 50 per cent to an all-time high of 6,200, the nation has noticed. "Rapid's extraordinary start is a stroke of luck for the whole league," said league executive Peter Westenthaler.

Cautious coach
Hickersberger, however, is trying to keep calm. "We shouldn't get carried away after our initial success," he said. "Things are not going too bad for us at the moment, but this might change quickly as our team lacks experience and strength in depth."

Ivanschitz pleased
Ivanschitz clearly agreed, saying: "We all have to keep our feet on the ground and remember that our latest success is the product of hard work and our strong fighting spirit. The atmosphere here is great and I have every reason to be pleased about my performances so far."

Bumper crowds
As the bumper 11,000 crowds at the Gerhard Hanappi stadium attest, he is not the only one.