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In his second international game, Christoph Baumgartner, 21, is the best man on the field. In the fight for the starting positions, the offensive man has a voice from now on.
Vienna / Klagenfurt. Austria v Romania at the Wörtherseestadion in Klagenfurt, 17th minute of the game: The Austrians run after the initial deficit when Stefan Lainer receives the cross ball on the right edge of the area and heads to the center. Christoph Baumgartner is waiting there. The 21-year-old gratefully accepts the squad in his second international match, starts pulling on the side and sinks the unsustainable leather for his first international match.
In the later course of the game, the young Baumgartner shows an extremely strong performance and provides an assist, but in the end you have to admit defeat 2: 3. Which the midfielder does not like at all. “We are very, very dissatisfied,” he said after the game. But the Baumgartner performance is recommended for higher tasks.
That did not go unnoticed by team boss Franco Foda, who praised the youngster after the final whistle. “He is a player who plays with great courage,” he says. “If you continue to work on yourself, you can also become an integral part of the national team.” And Christoph Baumgartner knows very well that constant improvement ultimately leads to success.
Burying your head in the sand is taboo
Summer 2019 is worth a look at. European Under-21 Championship in Italy and San Marino: After a solid opening win against Serbia, the next full success of Austria’s youth national team against Denmark should pave the way. way to the semifinals. The score was 1: 1 in the 73rd minute when Sascha Horvath was fouled in the opponent’s penalty area. Kevin Danso is planned as the shooter, but contrary to the arrangement, Christoph Baumgartner grabs the ball, accelerates and misses goalkeeper Iversen.
That’s the heart of the game, Denmark win 3-1 and for Austria a draw in the last group match against Germany is not enough for promotion. Team boss Gregoritsch is pissed off (“We’ll see exactly how it went”), other players would probably break under this load. Christoph Baumgartner doesn’t. A year later he made his debut in the men’s team, against Romania he is the strongest player in red-white-red.
Model students with a winning mindset
Christoph Baumgartner took his first steps at SV Horn, where Father Alfons is the junior manager. He soon followed the jump to the academy in St. Pölten, from there he went directly to the under-15 team. For Alfons Baumgartner, the son’s recipe for success is obvious: “What really sets him apart is that he is totally carefree.”
Ease of play and focus on his goals soon led Baumgartner to the next step in his career – moving to Germany. When TSG Hoffenheim knocked on the door in the summer of 2018, he had already graduated from school and even skipped seventh grade at Borg St. Pölten.
Hoffenheim was immediately the first choice for Baumgartner, as he explains: “They did everything possible to take care of me, showing me clear perspectives in discussions. In the end, everything turned out exactly as it was prophesied to me back then. “
With Hoffenheim, Baumgartner had come to the German Bundesliga talent factory, coach Julian Nagelsmann, just 30 years old at the time, was known for trusting young hopefuls. And so the Lower Austrian hopeful joined the first team after just six months.
His debut took place on matchday 33 against Werder Bremen, in his second game he was already in the starting lineup, and he had to leave the field in the 41st minute with a yellow-red. The loss to Mainz knocked Hoffenheim out of the European Cup at the last minute, but once again the young player did not let down.
Team debut as culmination of a successful season
Last season was a hot streak for Baumgartner, who plays central and offensive midfield, with seven hits and four assists in 26 first Bundesliga appearances. In the second half of the season, the stakes began to pile up throughout the season.
With the matches against Norway and Romania, he also made it to the national team. In the fight for the start, the attacking midfielder, who competes with Marko Arnautović, Marcel Sabitzer or Florian Kainz, will have a voice from now on.
Even if big names like Arnautovic or David Alaba return to the team, Christoph Baumgartner should be indispensable. The first games with the national jersey are a promise for the future, Father Alfons is also convinced: “It is crucial that he remains injury free”.
