Austria's coach rejoices after fourth World League victory
Linz, Austria, June 10, 2017 - After five World League matches, Austria peers hard at a sensation, the Final Four ticket. Hence, top scorer Alexander Berger and his teammates were very happy after this hard-fought 3-2 win against Mexico. On Sunday, Austria will be in a direct duel with Spain for a Final Four ticket.
Michael Warm, coach of Austria: "Mexico played such strong defence today and very fast counterattacks. We had a lot of pressure. Compliments to Tuschi und Zass, who brought us back! We were already on the losing end. It was very emotional. Now we have four victories in the World League. It is unbelievable! But we may not start calculating. We need the crowd again and back to work!”
Alexander Berger, player of Austria: "I may have been a little bit tired. But I try to play my best volleyball every time. If you can beat such a strong team, that is always a great feeling. Today we were very prone to failure. So it took a long time."
Maximilian Thaller, player of Austria: "I have never seen anything like that in Austria before. Just amazing, what a feeling! Now, let us hope for such an atmosphere again. Then we will bring it at home. Mexico are very untypical. Not many teams in Europe play like them."
Peter Wohlfahrtstaetter, player of Austria: "Mexico play a very offbeat style. So, in the centre it is hard to play. You never know, what happens next. Two years ago, we could not handle letting a lead slip away. Today we can."
Anton Menner, player of Austria: "Before the match point, I did not think anything. I had too much adrenaline to be on edge. The second step on the road to Mexico is done. Tomorrow we must take our next win."
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Jorge Miguel Azair, coach of Mexico: "It is a new experience for us to play at this high level. There shouldn't be a winner today. It was a great match with equal opponents. It is a learning process for us and maybe we are the luckier team next time. We are looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd next week. That was a big advantage for Austria today. The spectators were amazing."
Pedro Rangel, captain of Mexico: "We have to improve our preparation. It was a close match and maybe we hadn't had the power to win in five sets. Our major aim is to play a good home tournament. Every game makes us stronger. Tomorrow we are facing Germany. That will be an exciting match-up."