Austria the Cup

The Cup was just a continuation of the eternal rivalry between Rapid and Austria. Austria won the first leg 3-1, but Rapid recovered in the second leg and took not only revenge, but won the Cup – they won 2-0 and prevailed on away goal. As relative as this could be, for there was not a true ‘away’ match for either opponent.


Given the equal strength of both teams, it was only fair that Austria was unable to win a double. May be a bitter pill for Austria fans, but they were not the better team.

Rapid won the Cup and this was fine. What was not fine was inevitable exits: Panenka and Krankl were getting close to retirement and Keglevits was surely going to play abroad. Replacements were needed, but still Rapid was in better situation than their arch-rivals: they had younger squad and there was no urgent need to look for new players for key positions. At least in domestic terms, Rapid was going to be strong.