Horst Steiger

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Horst Steiger (born April 9, 1970 in Oberpullendorf , Burgenland , † October 1, 1995 in Stoob ) was an Austrian football player .

biography

Horst Steiger began his career at SC Eisenstadt . With this he took part in the final round of the BFV Indoor Masters in 1989 and was chosen as the best player of the tournament. In the fall of 1989, Steiger moved to SK Rapid Vienna , where the midfielder under the then coach Hans Krankl was soon part of the regular team and in his first Bundesliga season he played 26 of 36 championship games for the Hütteldorfer . With the third place in the Bundesliga and the entry into the final of the ÖFB Cup , Steiger achieved his first major successes, but had to admit defeat with his team in the cup final to arch rivals FK Austria Wien in extra time with 1: 3. In the following game year 1990/91 he came with Rapid again in the cup final, but the Viennese surprisingly lost without him against the second division SV Stockerau with 1: 2.

Due to his technique, his dribbling and his overview in the Austrian football scene, Steiger quickly acquired the reputation of a "huge talent" (quote: Andreas Herzog ), but at the same time was also considered a bon vivant whose love for football was only secondary. His trademark were his longer hair and the hanging jersey (bodice), which, although not yet punished by the referee at the time, was only reluctantly seen. Apart from external characteristics, his “stubbornness”, which repeatedly brought him into conflict with coaches, became his trademark. The fact that he was not able to celebrate major successes with SK Rapid was less due to himself than to the restructuring of the team that accompanied a crisis at the club, which had only played in the European Cup finals a few years earlier and was able to survive in the early 1990s had to significantly rejuvenate the departure of many established national team and European Cup heroes. Under coach Krankl, Steiger was soon one of the so-called “young savages”, of whom Kühbauer , Barisic , Marasek , Hatz , Jovanovic and others later made a name for themselves .

After a fourth ( 1990/91 ) and a fifth ( 1991/92 ) final place in the championship, Krankl, who was always considered a supporter of Steiger, was replaced by August Starek as coach in June 1992 . Despite making it to the cup final (1: 3 against FC Wacker Innsbruck ), Hubert Baumgartner Starek succeeded as coach in the following season . This was the first time that difficult times began for Steiger for the Hütteldorfer. During the summer break (1993) the club no longer agreed to extend its expired contract. The Burgenlander kept fit away from the team by running in the woods and cycling and finally received permission from Baumgartner to train with the team halfway through the autumn season. Shortly afterwards he received a new contract. The 1993/94 season he finished with Rapid again only in fifth place, which led to another change of coach. Baumgartner's successor Ernst Dokupil surprisingly put him on the bench when he took office in 1993/94 and sent him to warm up during the game. Steiger, obviously taken aback by the reserve role, demonstratively sat down behind the gate, which ended his career at SK Rapid Wien in one fell swoop.

In autumn 1994, Horst Steiger moved to VfB Mödling, who also played in the Bundesliga . With the Lower Austrians he only had four victories in the entire season and at the end of the season found himself relegated to what was then the 2nd division of the Bundesliga. On September 30, 1995 Horst Steiger gave his last game for the second division in the context of the ÖFB Cup. In the morning hours of October 1, 1995, he was killed in a traffic accident on the former federal highway 50 in the municipality of Stoob .

Stations

successes

  • 3 × finalist in the ÖFB Cup : 1990, 1991, 1993

statistics

  • 87 Bundesliga games and 7 goals for Rapid Vienna
  • 17 ÖFB Cup games and 2 goals for Rapid Vienna
  • 1 European Cup game for Rapid Vienna
  • more Bundesliga games and ÖFB Cup games for VfB Mödling

Literature and Sources

  • Thomas Hofmann: Why Horst Steiger feels right at home at Rapid ... In: Bundesliga Journal - The official magazine of the Bundesliga . Spring '94 edition. Sport Print / SIM Verlag, Vienna-Guntramsdorf 1994
  • Brief reports in other editions of the above journal from 1989 to 1995.

Web links

  • Entry in the rapidarchiv

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BFV Hallenmasters , website regiowiki.at, accessed on January 10, 2015
  2. ↑ List of the best players in the BFV Hallenmasters , website regiowiki.at, accessed on January 10, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Steiger, Horst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH Oberpullendorf , Burgenland, Austria
DATE OF DEATH October 1, 1995
Place of death Stoob , Burgenland, Austria