20. 11. 09. - 16:00

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20. 11. 09. - 16:00

Team captain Scharner in line of fire

By Thomas Hochwarter

Austria coach Dietmar Constantini has launched a scathing attack on team captain Paul Scharner after the bitter 1-5 defeat against Spain.

Constantini said in press conference yesterday (Thurs) it had seemed to him during Wednesday’s friendly that Scharner "needed to be taken by the hand" as the defender failed to challenge Spain’s striking force.

"I could have handed the armband to (18-year-old defender Aleksandar) Dragovic too," the national team manager added.

Scharner – who plays for Premiership side Wigan Athletic –said the criticism was "justified". The 29-year-old also said the team "didn’t stand a chance. We only managed to play on the same level (as Spain) in the first few minutes."

It is not the first time Constantini has criticised Scharner in public. After the player failed to score from the penalty spot with an embarrassingly poor attempt in a friendly against Cameroon in August (0-2), Constantini substituted Scharner before half-time.

"His attempt was unprofessional and amateurish – and I told him that," Constantini fumed after the match. Scharner said of the incident: "I wanted to take responsibility, but I screwed it up."

Speaking about the defeat to Spain, Constantini said: "We are not the first team to lose against Spain, but this performance was inadequate."

He said his team made too many individual mistakes in what was Austria’s largest home defeat in 15 years – and he revealed he had thought of former team coach Herbert Prohaska one hour into the match. Prohaska stepped down after Austria lost 0-9 to Spain in Valencia in 1999.

Austrian Times

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