Austria was unable to keep strong club football for obvious reason – the great players were few and one after another they moved to play for foreign clubs. As a result, Rapid (Vienna) moved down to mid-table and Wacker (Innsbruck) was relegated. 1979-80 was one-club show. Down, in the Second Division the curious thing was the parity of teams of the same town: SV Sankt Veit was 8th and SCA Sankt Veit – 9th, separated by 1 point. Wacker (Innsbruck) finished 2nd and SPG Innsbruck – 3rd. Wacker , which seemingly lost the powerful back-up of the famous firm Swarovski, fought for promotion, but lost the battle to SC Eisenstadt.
The winners were indeed the strongest team in the league this season, but their major task the next year would be to survive in the highest level of Austrian football. SC Eisenstadt – little known champions.
The small First Division seemingly work well – at least, the league became fairly competitive. Unlike many other countries, there were no terribly weak clubs. The battle for escaping the last place lasted the whole season and only near the end a gap was open between the unlucky club and those above.
First Vienna FC, the oldest Austrian club, finished last with 26 points. Once again they were relegated – First Vienna became a club ‘in between’ too strong for second division, too weak for the first, often moving between the leagues to this very day.
Rapid (Vienna) suffered greatly without Hans Krankl – they dropped down to 5th place this season, 7 points behind the 4th placed club. Rapid had seemingly stronger squad then most in the league, yet, without their superstar, they were nothing. So alarmed were the functionaries, they took extraordinary measure – and succeeded. But this was for the next season.
Three clubs fought for silver and bronze. Grazer AK lost the race, finishing with 42 points – 7 more than Rapid, but unfortunately one less then their immediate competition. Goal-difference decided the medals:
Linzer ASK had the best defense in the league – they lost just 6 matches out of 36 total and received only 34 goals. Excellent season, but best defense played a bitter trick on them – their city neighbours scored aplenty, and bested them at the end. To a point, the success of LASK was close to a miracle, for their squad was limited: they depended largely on a trio of veterans – Edi Krieger (34),who returned to Austria after strong years with FC Brugge (Belgium), the former West German international midfielder Wolfgang Gayer (37), and former Austrian international striker Helmut Koglberger (34). Talented and young goalkeeper – Klaus Linderberger (23) – completed the ‘skeleton’: one strong player in every line, but the rest was not great and given the age of the key players, it was not a team capable of staying at the top for long.
VOEST (Linz) edged their city rivals at the end and finished with silver. Great, in terms of local rivalry , and also strong finish of perhaps the most successful decade in the history of the club. But it was laso clear that VOEST was not going to be a major force in the future: more or less, the team had only one really strong player – Max Hagmayr (24). VOEST, perhaps with enthusiasm and bit of luck, was on equal footing with LASK and GAK, but nothing more. A title challenger they were not.
In fact, there was no challenger to the favourites: 20 wins, 10 ties, 6 losses, 84-39 goal-difference, 50 points. 7 points more than VOEST and LASK, 21 more goals scored then the next best scorers, and second-best defensive record in the league. Perhaps there is no need even to mention the champions.
One more title, easily won, a routine…
The favourites also reached the Cup final. Austria (Salzburg) was the other finalist, a rare success for the club at that time. They even won the home leg of the final 1-0. But in the second leg in Vienna, the hosts won 2-0 and won the cup.
Salzburg ranks 4th in the all-time Austrian table today, but the 70-s were low decade for them. 1979-80 was no different from previous years: Austria finished 6th, 6 points ahead of the relegated 10th placed First Vienna. Fifth place was unreachable… even weak Rapid was capable of far better record. Reaching the Cup final was a fantastic achievement for the club and they were more than brave at the final, but… their squad, lacking even faintly recognizable player was not match of the excellent team of the other Austria.
All trophies were collected by Austria (Vienna), a double, which was only right – this team had no rival at that time. Carefully built and internationally successful team, which was able of getting strong players from other clubs. Friedl Koncilia, Robert and Josef Sara, Obermayer, Baumeister, Gasselich, to name a few of those wearing the national team shirt along with the violet one. Brazilian assistant coach, not famous, but representing artistic football Uruguayan and Brazilian foreigners – unlike the other Austrian clubs, preferring little known or very aged West Germans and Yugoslavians. But the big difference was that Austria was the only club at the moment keeping a superstar – Herbert Prohaska. And right behind him was even younger great player – Walter Schachner. With them Austria was simply head and shoulders above any other club and also had a safety cushion: this proved to be the last season of Prohaska in Vienna, but unlike Rapid and Wacker, who had nobody to take the reigns after a superstar left them, Schachner was going to stay for a year or two, and replace Prohaska as a team leader. Or so it appeared at the time. Austria had too much talent for an Austrian club and no wonder they won everything. The club was beginning a new decade really strong.