Austria Classic XI: David Alaba and Josef Bican Headline Austrian Dream Team

Austria's recent pedigree in international tournaments is...not great, to say the least. 

Das Team's participation in this summer's European Championship will mark just the third time that they have qualified for the competition. They have also taken part in seven World Cups - most recently in 1998 when they crashed out at the first hurdle.

Despite their limited success, Austria have fielded some memorable players since the national team's inception in 1904, enjoying a golden age in the 1930s under the coaching of the nomadic ​Hugo Meisl.

Who knows? Come the end of Euro 2020 maybe a few of the country's current crop will have forced their way into this XI...

Goalkeepers & Defenders

Friedrich Koncilia (GK) - Austria's number one during the 1978 and 1982 World Cups, Koncilia also enjoyed a storied club career - winning eight Austrian Bundesliga titles. His 84 appearances qualify him as the sixth most capped Austrian player of all time.

Robert Sara - Skipper during the 1978 World Cup, Sara provided the assist for Hans Krankl to complete the Miracle of Córdoba - Austria's first win over bitter rivals Germany for 47 years. The right-back's 581 appearances is also the highest in Austrian league history.

Ernst Happel - Happel enjoyed a fantastic career - both as a player and a coach. The national stadium is even named after him, such was his impact on Austrian football. Happel played in the 1954 and 1958 World Cups before having a nomadic managerial career. Highlights included European Cup wins with Feyenoord and Hamburg and scooping a runners up medal with the Netherlands at the 1978 World Cup. 

Bruno Pezzey - Towering centre-back Pezzey used his height to full advantage in Austria's game against Northern Ireland at the 1982 World Cup, rising high to nod home his side's equaliser. Pezzey also took part in the competition four years earlier and by the time he retired he has amassed an impressive 84 caps for Das Team.

David Alaba - A national icon, Austria's footballing resurgence in recent times has been spearheading by the incredible Alaba. He's won about a million Bundesliga titles with ​Bayern Munich and also scooped a ​Champions League winners medal with Die Roten in 2013. He will be key to his team's chances this summer.

Midfielders 

Karl Zischek - Part of the Wunderteam of the 1930s, Zischek played a key role in Meisl's side as a prolific outside-right. Playing his entire club career at Admira, Zischek racked up 40 caps for Austria and scored 24 goals.

Herbert Prohaska - A strong candidate for being the best Austrian midfielder of all time, Prohaska played at the 1978 and 1982 World Cups, retiring just before the 1990 tournament. He also had a spell as Austrian manager, leading them through qualification to France 1998 - where they failed to win any of their three group games.

Karl Koller - Racking up over 800 appearances for First Vienna over a glittering career, Koller also helped his country secure a third place finish at the 1954 World Cup. His signature skill was his long ranged thunderbolts. Some say he had a foot built like a traction engine.

Matthias Sindelar - Partly responsible for revolutionising the forward position in the 1930s, Sindelar represented a more cultured and nuanced attitude to the position than the more physical approach that was prevalent at the time. His creativity and flair made the Wunderteam tick.

Forwards 

Josef Bican - Bican's scoring record looks like an error, a misprint, a mistake. Surely no one could have actually bagged 1468 in 918 games. Alright that particular figure is disputed but officially he scored at least 756. His story is complex and fascinating. You can read about it in detail ​here.

Toni Polster - What better way to close out the team than with Austria's all-time top goal scorer. During his international career Polster averaged just under a goal every other game for Das Team, scooping the nation's Footballer of the Year award on two occasions in the 80s and 90s.