News

Zlatko JUNUZOVIC:
Earlier than planned, the transfer to German first-division club Werder Bremen was closed yesterday, with Austria and Werder agreeing the financial terms of the deal. Which means "Zladdi" will be ready to play for the league's fifth-placed team from spring this year. The transfer to Bremen is a fantastic chance for Zlatko to develop his sporting career further and an important milestone in the 24-year-old's illustrious football career so far.

Nacer BARAZITE:
One year ago, S & F transferred the Dutch U21 player for a moderate fee to FK Austria Wien. There, the 21-year-old striker completed 50 official matches, scoring 23 goals and racking up a total of 12 assists. ...

There was a star-studded guest list at the Austrian Football Forum in the Ernst-Happel Stadium, also including Jürgen W., who had been invited to speak on the topic of “Footballers and Football in the Public Eye”. In an impressive presentation, he explained the role of the football consultant and the major responsibility this person bears for the career planning of a young football professional.
Panel members for this debate also included Tommy Parits, Stefan Reiter, Jean-Marie Pfaff and the President of the Players’ Union, Gernot Zirngast.
Other distinguished guests included Marcel Koller, Herbert Prohaska, Ivica Vastic, Peter Schöttel and Roland Kirchler, who gave attendees a look behind the scenes at the day-to-day work of a contemporary football trainer, while also explaining how they applied the latest technical resources (game analysis software).

For the impressive sum of EUR 19 million, Hungarian national player Balacs DZSUDZSAK will transfer from Anzhi Makhachkala to Dynamo Moscow, where he has signed a 4-year contract. "I've a better chance of playing in the Champions League in Moscow – and I want to take that chance," said the 26-year-old in a statement. And, by the way: Balacs' new striker team mate will be no less than former German national player Kevin Kuranyi!

... and a Happy New Year 2012

wishes the Stars & Friends-Team

This weekend, Emanuel Pogatetz again showed how he earned the title “Mad Dog” during his time in England. During the match against Bayer Leverkusen, there was a clash of heads between Pogatetz and opposing midfielder Simon Rolfes. While Rolfes took a nasty bruise and stayed back in the dressing room after half-time, Emanuel played the match through to the end, despite an open head wound. This was rewarded with additional soubriquets from the German-language press, such as “Austrian Ironskull” (Berliner Kurier) or “Tough Nut of the Day” (Welt Online). Despite his sterling performance, however, Hannover 96 still took home a frustrating 0:0 from Saturday evening’s match.

Despite differing final outcomes, last Saturday held something in common for our two German legionnaires. Both Sebastian and Emanuel headed the ball home whereby the latter had to face the defeat of his club Hanover in Mönchengladbach despite his equaliser to 1:1. Sebastian however secured Werder Bremen’s win over Mainz with his goal to 3:1 in the 78th minute. This was especially positive for Sebastian because he again played from the very beginning while his convincing performance, his goal and the win have definitely taken him a further step towards a permanent place in the team.

Tomas took Austria into the lead in the 37th minute with his second goal of the season; but Guido equalised on the half-time whistle – with a superb low shot right into the corner.
Guido is getting more and more into the game at the green-whites and such successes mean he is gaining an immense amount of self-confidence for the Hütteldorf team’s next matches.
By the way, this was the 5th Viennese derby in succession without a winner.

"Juno" was over the moon after the Euro 2012 qualifier against Azerbaijan and his first goal in what was already his 15th national game. Although only brought on in the 67th minute, he took command of the centre-midfield, demonstrating the quality of his footballing skills every time he took possession.

Christopher turned in a super performance in the 0:1 against the Dutch side, showing off some truly eye-catching play at the Tivoli in Innsbruck. His speed and superior shooting technique proved a real challenge for the opposition and excited a lot of interest with the international scouts present.
It's just a shame that SK Rapid doesn't always have enough faith to make him a permanent part of their first eleven: he'd certainly be a truly valuable addition to the Green & Whites' game!

Andi Lasnik brought his search for a new club to a successful conclusion today by signing a contract with NAC Breda. The Dutch first division club has secured Andi's services until 2013. At his previous employer, Willem II Tilburg, Andi racked up an impressive nine goals and eleven assists last season. We are looking forward to once again watching Andi play in the Eredivisie this season, and we wish him all the best and every success during this new phase of his career!

His performance wearing the SV Ried shirt in Europa League matches had impressed many foreign clubs, ultimately paving the way for his transfer to Germany.
In making his decision, Daniel was helped by discussions with ÖFB colleague Emanuel Pogatetz and U-20 World Cup goalie Samuel Radlinger, who moved from Ried to Hannover two months ago.  "Both of them recommended the transfer," said Royer, who has three international caps. ...

The 2012 Olympic Games in London are getting nearer by the day and it’s time to start planning your trip! Tickets for this world-class event can be purchased at www.vstupenky.biz (site only available in Slovakian), so what are you waiting for?

The sports management agency Stars & Friends can disclose that Zlatko Junuzovic has decided he will continue playing for FC Austria Wien under the terms of his current contract at least beyond the end of the summer transfer window.

After a thorough consideration of the opportunities available, Zlatko has made the decision that his career plans will benefit most from continuing to develop his market position with matches for FC Austria Wien and the national squad before then moving to a top club by summer 2012 at the latest. As things currently stand, an extension of his contract at Austria Wien is therefore not an option.

From July 21, a gigantic stage offering a wealth of major football talent will be set up in Columbia and will be the prime focus for international talent scouts making the trip to South America on behalf of prestigious football clubs.

Among the players will be our own shooting stars Samuel RADLINGER (Hannover 96), Daniel SCHÜTZ (FC Wacker Innsbruck), Kevin STÖGER (VfB Stuttgart) and Robert ZULJ (SV Josko Ried).

Competing against Panama on July 29, against Brazil on August 1 and against Egypt on August 4, they will be taking to the field under the floodlights of international football.

We wish our foursome all the best, plus a fantastic – and successful – stay in Columbia!

A great distinction for the Austrian Zlatko Junuzovic – trainers and journalists have chosen our Austrian team player as the best footballer for the 2010/2011 season. In 33 official matches, he scored a total of 9 goals while also setting up another 10; his way of "playing ball" not only wowed the fans but also impressed experts in the game, thus enabling him to become the worthy winner of the title.

Many top clubs have already been busy making a lot of notes about Zladi and he has a good chance of an international career.

His decisive 1:1 equalizer against Latvia was the FC Admira player's thank-you to team boss Didi Constantini for his first A-team cap, and it also paved the way for a great 3:1 victory for our national team.

Manuel Ortlechner, Zlatko Junuzovic and Roman Kienast were also on the field from the start, forming the rock-solid heart of this team formation.

With three other S & F players – subs Christopher Drazan, Manuel Weber and Daniel Royer – also on the pitch later ………… all in all, it was a fantastic evening of football for Austria and Stars & Friends!

Emanuel POGATETZ, Manuel ORTLECHNER, Christoph LEITGEB, Roman KIENAST, Zlatko JUNUZOVIC, Manuel WEBER and Daniel ROYER – have all been nominated by team boss Didi Constantini for the important UEFA Euro 2012 qualification match Austria vs. Germany on 3rd June 2011 in Vienna. 

There are also two other S&F players, Christopher DRAZAN and Guido BURGSTALLER on call!

We are crossing our fingers for our team and hope the last chance for UEFA Euro 2012 participation in Poland and the Ukraine will be used.

Janezcek B., Radlinger S., Schütz D., Stöger K. and Zulj R. have been summoned to Spain by Andi Heraf to attend the training camp - two others Huspek P. and Sax M. are on call. 

They will be together for 10 days and want to use the time to prepare as best as they can for this big tournament.

It is for young talented players that such a big event often forms the launching pad for an international career - Sebastian Prödl and Rubin Okotie are the best examples of this; both were very convincing in the U 20 World Championship held in Canada and got noted by scouts hunting in the international arena; just how the success story eventually unfolded, one has come to know of in the meanwhile…..
Werder Bremen and FC Nürnberg!

Following the home defeat against Gladbach and Bayern’s victory over Schalke 04, the Munich squad has now edged ahead in the fight to secure a place in the Champions League.

For Emanuel, it would be a dream come true to achieve this kind of sporting victory in his first year at Hannover.

And “Mad Dog” wouldn’t be “Mad Dog” if he wasn’t going to fight with everything he’s got to achieve this goal!