"Team and condi"

Priest gives “divine” tip for the European Football Championships

P. Bernhard Maier talking shop with Toni Polster. The former Olympic chaplain gives Austria underdog chances.(Bild: Mucky Korlath)

Sports chaplain Bernhard Maier from Lower Austria gives "divine" tip for the European Football Championship: "It's all about fitness!"

Father Bernhard Maier is still happy to swap his gown for a tracksuit. The head of the Salesian community in Amstetten worked for a long time "full-time" in the field of sport - as an Olympic chaplain for many years, he provided pastoral care to Austria's athletes during victories and defeats.

"Austria has an outside chance." 
The priest no longer holds this office, but his enthusiasm for sport remains. Father Maier will therefore be following the games of the European Football Championship with great interest. For the trained sports ethicist, one thing is certain: "Austria has an outside chance." However, the religious also names the prerequisites for this: "An optimal team performance and sufficient fitness." Maier believes that the traditional soccer nations such as Spain, France, Italy and England are more likely to be in the title race.

The cleric, who comes from Göppingen (Germany) and attended the Don Bosco grammar school in Unterwaltersdorf in the district of Baden and later even headed it, attributes the role of favorite to his original homeland: "Germany will be European champions!"