Our ÖFB Goalgetter

Baumgartner is happy with his leading role!

Christoph Baumgartner(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Christoph Baumgartner has scored eleven goals in 34 international appearances for Austria so far. Since his debut in September 2020, no other Austrian footballer has scored as often for the national team as the 24-year-old from Lower Austria. "The system suits me very well," explained Baumgartner. His scoring qualities are likely to be in demand at the European Championships in Germany this summer. In the absence of injured stars David Alaba and Marko Arnautovic, he could also slowly grow into a leadership role. 

"You don't become a leader overnight. It's a process that primarily happens through performance," emphasized Baumgartner on Wednesday at the team camp in Marbella. There is also the human component. "I try to be the Baumi that I am. Creating something artificially is never authentic. It doesn't work either." It has to be in you whether you are a player "who opens his mouth and expresses his opinion". He certainly sees himself as such.

Playing style not dissimilar to Müller's
The RB Leipzig attacker cited Thomas Müller as a role model in this regard. "That's something that makes him strong," Baumgartner said of the Bayern veteran. "He's certainly one of the most intelligent players I've played against - the way he gives commands, opens up spaces and occupies them. That comes with experience, but it's also a gift." His style of play is not at all dissimilar to Müller's, said Baumgartner. "Even if he is, of course, a world-class player."

Baumgartner considers his best position in the national team to be that of second striker, which he recently occupied alongside the tall Michael Gregoritsch. In the test against Germany in November (2:0), this "worked very well". Baumgartner managed one goal and one assist. "With a real nine up front, you have a lot of freedom around him. That's one of my greatest strengths, recognizing spaces and occupying them." He is also the man who triggers the pressing. "The rest of the pressing that makes us strong often depends on that." However, he is by no means stuck in one position. "Depending on the personnel and where I'm needed."

"I know that long periods of action are also good for me physically!"
At Leipzig, he is currently only needed as a substitute. Baumgartner has started one of the last nine competitive matches. The Champions League round of 16 finalists have top-class players in their attacking positions in the form of young Dutch star Xavi Simons (20) and Spain's high-class technician Dani Olmo (25) - plus the North Macedonian Eljif Elmas (24), who was Italian champion with Napoli last year. Baumgartner joined the ÖFB team with even greater anticipation. "I know that long periods of action are also good for me physically," said the player from the Waldviertel region.

In the test matches against Slovakia (Saturday in Bratislava) and Turkey (Tuesday in Vienna), he wants to increase his goal tally once again. His average of 0.32 goals per international match is by far the best in the current squad. Only record international Arnautovic (36 goals in 111 international matches) is in these spheres. Baumgartner has also already scored an important goal at a European Championship - with the "Sole of Bucharest" in the 1:0 win against Ukraine, which gave Austria its first appearance in a European Championship round of 16 in 2021. "We've already shown as a team that we can take on a tournament like this, that we can win such close games," emphasized Baumgartner.

"We have to reach our top level. 90 percent won't be enough!"
The anticipation of the next opportunity is huge. "It's not long away now." The Austrians start the European Championship on June 17 against France. With the Netherlands (June 25), a second cracker has already been confirmed as a group opponent. "We now have a self-confidence in the team that we can upset any nation," explained Baumgartner. "But we have to reach our top level. 90 percent won't be enough." The intensity in training in Marbella is extremely high. "Everyone is pushing themselves to the limit. Everyone wants to show themselves, that's how it has to be." The training course is the last chance to play themselves into the limelight before the EURO.

Eight players from the Austrian Bundesliga are also in the 26-man squad. "You can tell that the Austrian league has gained a lot of quality," said Baumgartner. "There's no difference, they're not dropping off." The basis of the ÖFB team is now broader, he added. "There are a lot of guys coming up from behind. That's very important. It's the only way to keep the competition high."