One step closer to the historic goal: Team Austria wants to win the European Championship and is getting closer to the championship title last Sunday. The Austrian national team defeated Italy 24-14 and is now in the European Championship final. A special event for 19-year-old linebacker Noel Swancar in many respects, especially since he didn’t even know until six days before the start of the game that he was going to play against the Italians.
The young high school graduate has barely processed the close result of the Austrian Bowl when his cell phone rings on Monday morning. A missed call from Max Sommer,
(c) freesky.photographics
Head coach of the men’s national team, and the request that he call him back as soon as possible. What could that mean? Noel Swancar found out about this very quickly and one day later he was in the direction of Innsbruck to the men’s national team camp. The high school graduate is on the field for Team Austria for the first time and then in the semi-finals of the European Championship. “When I see the people I train and play with, it feels very safe without being super nervous.” Among other things, 26 Vikings from the ELF team are on the field. In addition, well-known faces from the Vikings coaches such as Ivan Zivko, Lukas Strässler, Benjamin Sobotka and Daniel Brandmayr were part of the semi-final team.
For the 19-year-old, that wasn’t the first exciting news of the year. First the promotion from the U18s to the AFL, then the mentioned participation in the European Championship semi-finals and last week that came ELF-Signing bei den Vienna Vikings as a linebacker. His football career was characterized early on by a sense of achievement. Swancar is in his last year in the U18s state champion become and with a very dominating defense in which he played a strong role. At the end of the season, he also gets praise for it: he is then appointed as the traditional Upgrade Day for the Vikings offspring Defense MVP der U18. At the same time, he has also been officially “released” from the offspring and into the AFL promoted.
Noel Swancar (#47) and Marcel Kovarik (#10) are now part of the Vienna Vikings ELF team / (c) freesky.photographics
However, the start in the AFL was not particularly positive. Shortly before the first game, the linebacker suffered a minor injury in training. From week two against arch-rivals Danube Dragons, however, he is back on the field and says in retrospect: “I actually went in there with relatively few expectations, without knowing what to expect.” By the grand finale, he had developed into the so-called middle linebacker, who, as the “boss” of the defense, kept track of things. “Of course it was a great honor to play as a middle linebacker in the Austrian Bowl,” says Swancar, thanking his coaches for their trust. With four solo and three assisting tackles, he’s drawing attention again, although that doesn’t change how much the loss hurt. “A tear or two shed after the final,” admits the defender. Luckily things looked different for Team Austria in the European Championship semifinals. It remains exciting to see whether Noel will be part of the team again at the next camp and in the final at the end of October.
Swancar (#47) als Middle Linebacker beim Austrian Bowl / (c) freesky.photographics
But one thing is already certain: His first ELF game will take place on August 26th. held on the High Perch against the Fehervar Enthroners. In addition to Noel, Florian Markus, Michael Haider, Kevin Wojta and Marcel Kovarik are now also part of the Vienna Vikings ELF team. So for the rest of the ELF season, it’s about getting used to the new level and the new team. “The AFL has been very run-heavy. The ELF has become more of a passing league,” says the Vikings Academy graduate, describing the upcoming change. “A lot has happened in my life lately,” says Noel. “But I still have to say that I don’t feel like I’m going too fast, because I’m very grateful for every opportunity and opportunity,” he continues. Ultimately, it is the goal of every athlete to keep developing and to play in better teams and higher leagues.
(c) freesky.photographics
The AFC Vienna Vikings wish their five new ELF players every success in the remainder of the season and are excited to see where their paths will lead.
2023-08-13 19:31:26
#European #Championship #semifinals #ELF #rapid #rise #Vikings #Academy #talent
