Austrian League Champions

Out of all the European teams I have played for, infact any team I've ever been a part of, the most fun group has been that of Squash Union, Wiener Neudorf. The whole league is fun - everyone gets along brilliantly and looks forward to match weekends. Fun also means distraction and my favourite team became a victim of my poorest record ever. Bad form didnt help either as I didnt win a single match the whole season. Fortunately, I was given yet another chance to redeem myself when I was called up for the finals for this season's bundesliga.




Vienna
I first visited Vienna for the Austrian Open a few years ago and absolutely loved the place. The town centre is full of majestic buildings and beautiful sculptures from it's days as the capital of the empire. Voted as the best city to live in many a time in recent years, Vienna is also tourist friendly and easy to get around. The city has its own distinct feel to it - hard to describe. The people are different and I find them trendy and cool. A bicycle ride around the first district on a sunny spring sunday reassured me that it is one of my favourite places to visit.

The Austrian Parliament

Wiener Neudorf
I met Happy Andreas during that first visit and later got in touch when Aqeel mentioned they might be looking for a player. Hence began a three year partnership with Squash Union. This strong club from a small place just outside Vienna knows how to compete, win and have fun while they're at it. This season they aimed for an incredible 11th national league title.

Squash Union at the European Club Champs in Prague - Sep 2012

However, this season was going to be tough as the format changed again to bring in play offs between the top 4 teams after the league rounds finished. But the club was well prepared and recruited players smartly. The depth in the team was stronger than ever - once again credit to their planning.

The Final
The final was between Wiener Neudorf and Tirole from beautiful western Austria. The match started with two foreign players battling it out at second string. Young Rudi got the better of the experience of Leifels in four games but only just. Second on was Poldi - a mutiple former austrian national champion - against a young gun. Poldi managed to use his experience to sneak a five games win. The matches were tied at 1-1 but we were down a game - with every game important in this four player a side rubber.

I was up next - against young, up and coming Anthony Graham. With my poor form during the season, my age and Anthony's speed, I was not expected to win. Our manager Michi called it impossible. However, I knew deep inside what I could do. I knew I had put in the work and knew the importance of this game. I wanted to make up to the team for all the losses in the season and now was my chance - the most important time of all - the final. A big team of supporters cheered me on at the top of their lungs as I controlled play and managed to sneak a close four games win against the young Englishman. We were up 2-1 and by two games.

As expected, Austrian no.2 Jakob Dirnberger closed out the last match to give the team a third win and the pole position - for the 11th time! The team was ecstatic.

The victorious team after the 2013 final - 21.04.13

I feel like its the perfect end to my European experience as I move back to New Zealand next week. The four seasons spent here had there highs and lows and its great to finish on a positive note at my favourite place with team mates who became close friends. Not sure when but I will certainly be back one day. Thanks for having me in the team guys. It's been a pleasure and needless to say I've had a ball!

Danke Wien!

The team after winning their 10th title in 2012 - Michi, Poldi,Erich, Happz, myself and Lukas