If EURO 2020 teams were NFL franchises: Part 1
By Tadhg Flynn
2. Austria – NFL Franchise Comparison: Baltimore Ravens
Next game: vs. Italy, Saturday, June 26
Located in the centre of Europe, Austria has a proud history. Unfortunately, they are a small nation in sporting terms. Austria has one star player who is head and shoulders ahead of the rest of his teammates.
David Alaba, who has played for Bayern Munich for 11 years and is transferring to Real Madrid this summer, is acclaimed as Austria’s greatest ever sports star. He has been a perennial winner in his career and he will be the driving force behind Austria’s success.
With Alaba leading the charge, the Austrian team will be confident in their upcoming games. Their squad has multiple players from top club teams across the best five leagues in Europe. The core of the squad has played international football for a lot of years and have gained experience and synergy playing together. They have every chance of progressing into the next rounds of the tournament.
Austria as a team are considered to not quite be at the top level without Alaba. Baltimore Ravens fans will love supporting Austria as they see their team represented by the nation. As a roster focused on their transcendental star Lamar Jackson, they know the importance of their star man dictating the pace of play.
They require some luck, hoping the very best teams drop away, but they are certainly in with a chance of success. Like Ravens fans, Austrians are waiting a long time on success and their core group of players have been together for a few years now. The pieces match, and I think Maryland natives will pull behind Austria if they watch their games.