At Werder Bremen he mixes up the Bundesliga as an eccentric, at the Austrian national team he is kicked out after a scuffle. In the meantime, Marko Arnautovic has matured – and has long since returned. The 33-year-old can set a record this week.
Marko Arnautovic is really angry because he is not allowed to take a penalty. After the Austrians lost 2-0 in Turkey in March 2011, the eccentric striker stormed into the dressing room and a physical altercation ensued with team-mate Stefan Maierhofer. The result: the temporary suspension from the ÖFB team.
Eleven years later, Arnautovic describes this misstep as the low point of a career full of escapades and scandals. He just “didn’t think much”. As so often. But “thank God they then realized that they needed me after all,” he says today with a smile.
This Thursday (8.45 p.m. / DAZN and in the ntv.de live ticker) Arnautovic closes the Nations League game in France with his 103rd appearance for Austria on record national player Andreas Herzog. On Sunday in Vienna against Croatia, the 33-year-old could even surpass the historic record. Who would have thought?
In the changeable career of the striker, who often caused a stir at Werder Bremen from 2010 to 2013, this was not foreseeable. Arnautovic has always been considered highly talented, but also short-tempered, unpredictable and self-absorbed. Nicknames like “Astronautovic” or “Null-Bock-Ösi” made this clear.
Before the important appearance in Paris, he emphasized that he had matured – from “cage kicker and individual player to team player. I’m nothing without a team. I’m not the biggest, the best”.
But for his teammates he is somehow already. Arnautovic is “a difference player, there aren’t many of those in the world,” said Christopher Trimmel from Union Berlin, praising the beefy attacker in standard. For Michael Gregoritsch from Freiburg he is simply “a super guy”. And Munich’s Marcel Sabitzer added: “Many goals, many assists, one constant, one friend. He brings relaxation to the dressing room.”
Arnautovic, who made his debut in 2008 and has scored 33 goals since then, does not want to overstate the fact that he will now become Austria’s record player. It’s “an honor” and makes him “proud too”, “but I’ll approach the game as usual, I won’t get any superpowers now.” He just plays football “because I love it”.
And that’s pretty good at the moment. Arnautovic has already scored six goals in seven games at FC Bologna this season. He is the top scorer in Serie A.
In France and then against Croatia, Austria’s new team manager Ralf Rangnick would like the striker to score more goals. For the ÖFB team, which could not qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, Group 1 of the A pool is about staying up. The Austrians are still surprisingly ahead of the world champion (2) with four points. France have “an outstanding team, maybe the best in the world,” said Arnautovic. It will be difficult: “But no one is unbeatable. We don’t need to hide.” Certainly not an Arnautovic.
