Austria: a fan's guide for 2010-11
A-Z of Austrian Bundesliga clubs
Well, it may not be a footballing powerhouse any more - ok, perhaps never was - but there's still good reason to head to Austria for the beautiful game.
They hosted the 2008 Euros with the Swiss and despite their early exit the tournament has left them with four world class stadiums and a bit of a lift for the domestic league in general. The Austrians may not be batting highly in the Champions League but if you fancy combining a bit of culture or the odd mountain or two with some football, there are worse places to head.
Plane is your favoured mode of transport for Austria. It's a fairly long trek by train but not completely out of sight, particularly on an overnighter. Your best bet for train bookings is direct with www.eurostar.com - to check for timetables throughout Austria in english visit www.bahn.de
FC Wacker Innsbruck (Innsbruck)
Stadium: Tivoli Stadion (17,000)
From main station: 15 mins walk
Closest airports: Innsbruck
Closest Austrian clubs: Salzburg, Klagenfurt
Club website: www.fc-wacker-innsbruck.at/
LASK Linz
Stadium: Stadion der Stadt Linz (18,000)
From main station: bus 27 from Hbf Kärntner Straße to Botanischer Garten or 20 minute walk
Closest airports: Linz
Closest Austrian clubs: SV Josko Ried
Club website: www.lask.at
SC Magna Wr Neustadt
Stadium: Wr Neustadt Stadion (7,000)
From main station: Bus K from train/ bus station to ATN Wr Neustadt Stadion
Closest airports: Vienna, Bratislava
Closest Austrian clubs: SV Mattersburg, Rapid Wien, Austrian Wien
Club website: www.scmagna.at
Mattersburg
Stadium: Pappelstadion (15,000)
From main station: Five minute walk north from station
Closest airports: Vienna, Bratislava
Closest Austrian clubs: SC Magna Wr Neustadt, Rapid Wien, Austrian Wien
Club website: www.svm.at
SV Josko Reid
Stadium: Keine Sorgen Arena (7,500)
From main station: Bus 2023 or 2379 to Ried im Innkreis Braunauer Strasse, continue up the road for 200 metres then turn right up Brucknerstrasse, stadium on your left, or 400 metres walk from town centre
Closest airports: Salzburg
Closest Austrian clubs: Linz, Red Bull Salzburg
Club website: www.svreid.at
FC Red Bull Salzburg
Stadium: Red Bull Arena (31,000)
From main station: Bus 1 from train/ bus station, 25 mins
Closest airports: Salzburg, Munich
Closest Austrian clubs: SV Josko Reid
Club website: www.redbulls.com
SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz
Stadium: UPC Arena (15,000)
From main station: Tram 6 from Hbf (Scheife) to Stadion Liebenau (Schleife) outside the ground, or 200 metre walk from Ostbahnhof rail station
Closest airports: Thalerhof Airport Graz, Vienna
Closest Austrian clubs: KSV Superfund
Club website: www.sksturm.at
KSV Superfund (Kapfenburg)
Stadium: Franz-Fekete-Stadion (12,000)
From main station: 400 metre walk east from Kapfenburg station along Wiener Strasse, then turn right
Closest airports: Thalerhof Airport Graz, Vienna
Closest Austrian clubs: Sturm Graz
Club website: www.ksv-superfund.at
Austria Wien (Vienna)
Stadium: Franz-Horr-Stadion (13,000)
From city centre: Take Tram 67 to Altes Landgut, then 100 metre walk along Sudosttangente Wien, stadium on the right. Closest underground stop Reumannplatz at south end of U1 line - then continue walking south along Favourtinstrasse to Sudosttangente Wien, a 15 min walk
Closest airports: Vienna, Bratislava (Slovakia)
Closest Austrian clubs: Rapid Wien
Club website: www.fk-austria.at
Rapid Wien (Vienna)
Stadium: Gerhard Hanappi-Stadion (17,500)
From city centre: Talke underground to Hutteldorf west end of U4 line, then 200 metre walk
Closest airports: Vienna, Bratislava (Slovakia)
Closest Austrian clubs: Austria Wien
Club website: www.skrapid.at
Austrian Bundesliga map
View Austrian Bundesliga 2010-11 stadiums in a larger map
Austrian kick off times
The Austrian top flight season sees each club playing each other home and away twice, and runs from mid July to May with a winter break from mid December to early February. Most games are midweek with the odd round on Wednesdays.
The clever amongst you will have sussed there's just ten teams so there's only five games per round. The regular kick off is a very sociable 6pm on Saturday, with the main TV game on at 3.30pm on Sunday. There is often a Friday night game at 8.30pm (7.30pm in winter) and it's not unusual for more games to be played on Sunday, sometimes daytime, sometimes evening.
If you want to dip down to the second tier - Erste Liga - the usual round of games is at 6pm or 7pm on Fridays, with one game playing at 3.15pm on Saturday.