Austria dream of being a force again, says soccer chief

A place in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals on home soil would be a huge achievement for Austria, the president of their soccer association said yesterday.

Austria, who along with Switzerland qualify by right as joint hosts, will be appearing in the finals for the first time.

"The expectations in Austria are always massive because we were once a great soccer power and we still dream of being one," OeFB president Friedrich Stickler told a news conference in Vienna.

"But sometimes there is a huge distance between dream and reality. If we survive the group stage (in 2008) we will have achieved much already."

Austria finished third at the 1954 World Cup and supporters still enjoy reminding their German neighbours of the 3-2 win in the 1978 tournament in Argentina.

Euro 2008 kicks off in the Swiss city of Basle on June 7 and ends in Vienna 22 days later.

"We want to organise the best European Championship ever," said Stickler.

"The stadiums will be finished this summer and there are no problems with the infrastructure."

The Euro 2008 slogan is 'expect emotions' and Austria want public viewing to be a big part of the tournament.

In Vienna, a major city centre boulevard will be blocked to allow more than 100,000 fans to watch matches on giant outdoor screens.

"We are close to Budapest and close to Prague. A lot of people might just come over for the day to watch a match somewhere in the city," said Stickler.

UEFA will present details of public viewing concepts within the next few days, he added.

Austria's chamber of commerce said yesterday the tournament would provide 321 million euros in added value to the economy, mostly in the tourist and construction sectors.