This season, Vienna Rapid has just missed out on reaching the Champions League. During the Europa League group stage it defeated formidable Villarreal of Spain (2:1) and is currently doing much better in its domestic championship than Dinamo Minsk.
Before facing the Minsk squad, the club from Vienna was considered the favourite, despite the match being hosted by Borisov-Arena. Of course, football is unpredictable and Dinamo fans were hopeful of defying the odds. Alas, this didn’t happen.
Captain Steffen Hofmann managed a shot straight into the corner of the Dinamo net soon after halftime, and Rapid secured a 1:0 victory. The Austrians haven’t experienced a single defeat during the Europa League group stage, while Dinamo can count eight defeats in a row (taking into account matches within the Belarus Championship); the picture is looking gloomy.
No one may be surprised if Dinamo will soon see a retirement of its coach.
By Igor Grishin
