Football Legend Herbert Prohaska Turns 70

"I have a great family, many very good friends, and have been connected to football my whole life. I've always landed on the buttered side," said Herbert Prohaska to the APA. Prohaska won seven league titles and four cups with Austria Vienna. In Italy, he won the league title with AS Roma in 1983 and the cup with Inter Milan in 1982. He participated in the World Cups of 1978 and 1982. In 1978, he reached the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup with Austria, which ended in a 0:4 defeat against Anderlecht. He described this defeat as his bitterest as a player.

Herbert Prohaska almost ended up at Ajax Amsterdam

In his prime, Prohaska was considered one of the best midfielders in Europe. In the mid-1970s, Ajax Amsterdam, then probably the strongest club team in the world, wanted him as a successor to Johan Cruyff, who had moved to FC Barcelona. However, the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) did not allow domestic players under 28 to transfer to foreign clubs. "Ajax would have offered a fortune back then, and I would have liked to go because it was one of my favorite teams," Prohaska recounted.

The ÖFB regulation was lifted in 1978, and two years later he went to Italy. At that time, Serie A initially allowed a maximum of one, then two foreigners per club - a transfer to a top Italian club was therefore akin to a knighthood, an ennoblement to an absolute class footballer.

However, the earning opportunities back then were only a fraction of today's top salaries. "I wouldn't say that I wouldn't take today's salaries, but even in my time, professional football was incredibly well paid. I earned four times as much in Italy as in Austria," said Prohaska. "I wasn't set for life afterwards, but for example, building a house wasn't really associated with difficulties. Moreover, the generations before us would have loved to have our salaries."

Major problems of Herbert Prohaska with Stronach

As a coach, Prohaska led Austria to the league title and cup victory twice each, and with the national team, he achieved the last World Cup participation in 1998. He described the 0:9 defeat of the ÖFB team in Spain in 1999, which ended his career as team coach, as his "most embarrassing, but not bitterest" coaching experience. "Really bitter was my last coaching year at Austria (Note: 1999 - 2000). I put my heart into it, believing I could achieve something there, but then Frank Stronach came."

From the beginning, there was a strained relationship with the then club patron. "The first thing he said was that Prohaska has to go because anyone who loses 0:9 can't be a good coach. That was a heavy blow for me," reported Prohaska. A few years later, Stronach still wanted to appoint the Austria icon as sports director.

Prohaska looks back on the negotiations in the early 2000s with a smile. "Curiously, it failed because of the money. He said he only spends a lot of money on coaches and players, and I told him: 'Frank, I'm the boss of all of them.'" But even with a massive salary increase, there probably wouldn't have been an Austria comeback for Prohaska. "In the end, I wouldn't have gone back under Stronach at all, even if he had paid me ten times as much, because I knew it wouldn't work with him," said Prohaska.

Prohaska: Stronach Wanted to Play Like a Canadian Ice Hockey Team

Stronach completely lacked football expertise, Prohaska recounted, recalling a conversation with the Austro-Canadian in which he demanded that Austria should "play like a Canadian ice hockey team." Over 20 years ago, there were also fruitless negotiations about coaching engagements at FC Kärnten and GAK. Additionally, Prohaska declined an offer for the job as the Greek national team coach - instead, Otto Rehhagel took over and sensationally led the Greeks to the European Championship title in 2004.

At that time, Prohaska had already been working as an ORF analyst for four years. "I had a contract back then with the option to exit for a good offer." However, that did not come to pass. "I quickly realized I enjoyed it, I sleep better and no longer have to get upset. Then I decided for myself that I would no longer take on the coaching job."

"Schneckerl" Married for 51 Years

However, crucial to his quality of life is his stable social environment, Prohaska tirelessly emphasizes. The soon-to-be 70-year-old has been married for 51 years, has a "super intact family with two great daughters and sons-in-law and four great grandchildren" and a large circle of friends. Maintaining friendships is of great importance to Prohaska. For over 30 years, almost every Monday has been reserved for engaging in a bit of sport with old comrades, but above all, sitting together comfortably and "having a laugh," as Prohaska puts it. "It's important to me, I like being around people."

However, some of these Mondays will likely be missed next summer. Prohaska will be analyzing the 2026 World Cup games for ORF, possibly including those of the Austrian national team. "I wholeheartedly wish that the wait for a World Cup participation will be over in 2026. Our team is really good, we've never played like this before with pressing, speed, and dominance." There was special praise for the current national team coach Ralf Rangnick. "In my opinion, he has been playing the best football for decades."

ORF Honors Herbert Prohaska on His 70th Birthday

ORF 1 will be dedicated to the jubilarian on August 8 from 8:15 PM - with a "Seitenwechsel Special," a portrait at 9:50 PM, and the "Best Talks from 'Willkommen Österreich'" at 10:45 PM. Additionally, ORF 2 will show the district portrait "Mein Simmering" featuring, among others, Prohaska on August 10 at 11:05 AM. ORF III has the "zeit.geschichte" episode "Football Legends: Krankl and Prohaska" in its program on August 16 at 8:15 PM.

In the Ö1 "Hörbilder," the "Nation's Schneckerl" will look back on the turning points, defeats, and triumphs of his life on September 27 at 9:05 AM. ORF ON also offers the video collection "Happy Birthday, Herbert Prohaska!".

(APA/Red)

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