When Ried trainer Andreas Heraf thinks back to the time together with Christoph Baumgartner, he raves. “Christoph is the best player I have ever trained,” says the 53-year-old about the EM hero who scored Austria in the round of 16 with his gold goal against Ukraine.
One of the first well-wishers came from the Innviertel: Heraf wrote a text message to Baumgartner, the former head of the junior team had the native Horner under his wing in several selections. The qualities of the 21 year old? “Coupled with his footballing class, he is an extremely intelligent guy.” That also has something to do with his parents’ house: “The family was always by his side. Mom always made sure that everything was right at school. Dad and his boys (Note: Brother Dominik Baumgartner is also a professional soccer player at Wolfsberg) worked extremely in the sporting field. ” Immediately after graduating from high school, Baumgartner went to Germany, where Baumgartner played his way to the professional squad of current FC Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann within six months at Hoffenheim via the U19 and U23.
Before changing clubs, Heraf was asked for advice: “He asked me what he should do. Hoffenheim tried very hard, but Leipzig wanted him too. He could have earned more there, but Hoffenheim was ideal for planning his career. ” (rawa)
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
