Champions League

The LASK Miracle: The Entire Country Is in Soccer Fever

The fan shop was also bustling the next day. In high demand: the jersey of two-goal scorer Adeniran.(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

After the incredible 5–1 victory over Celtic Glasgow, the euphoria extends far beyond the Linz fans. The LASK fan shop was bustling with activity when the “OÖ-Krone” visited. The Chelsea Pub also saw record numbers on yesterday’s match day.

“Goosebumps. You have to experience something like this,” says LASK fan Walter Radinger the day after the 5–1 win over Celtic Glasgow. Very few people likely expected the Linz team to come back from a 0–4 deficit to win with an aggregate score of 5–4. That made the joy after the final whistle all the greater—and it’s still going strong.

“I was at the stadium yesterday, and the game was incredible—we were on the edge of our seats right until the end. In the end, the surprise was even bigger than our hopes.”

Simone Harrer-Mitterhauser (Linz)

Sales clerk Matthias Steidle at the LASK fan shop noticed it too. “The rush was enormous on game day and again the next day,” he told the “Krone” during a visit. “People are already asking for Champions League tickets, even though the draw hasn’t even taken place yet.” Even an Austria Vienna fan had reason to celebrate—the man from St. Valentin (Lower Austria) wrote to the “Krone”: “I’m certainly no black-and-white fan, but this LASK team under Coach Kühbauer has me wanting more.”

Celtic fans were surprised:
Even the Scots who had traveled with the team were impressed by the Linz side’s performance. “LASK played very well,” said Joe Quinn and Sean McManus from Glasgow. Still, the disappointment with Celtic was immense: “When you’re leading 4–0, you can’t let that slip away.” They weren’t satisfied with their goalkeeper’s performance either.

“I almost have to start crying again when I think about yesterday’s game. Unfortunately, Celtic was very bad. LASK, on the other hand, surprised us.”

Joe Quinn (Glasgow)

Kieran Bates, the owner of the Chelsea Pub, also got a sense of just how many Celtic fans had come to Linz. More than 300 people were in and outside the pub that day.

“On Monday, I saw that our pub had been featured on a Scottish fan page on social media. That’s when we knew we could expect a huge crowd.” And the turnout paid off: “We set an all-time sales record,” says Bates. After the game, many LASK fans also came to the pub to celebrate. “At 2 a.m., after more than 16 hours, we finally closed up,” says Bates.