Roland Linz: "Everyone suffering from diarrhea could be an advantage"

For Wiener Austria, the match against SC Braga is about a spot in a European group stage!

The "Violets" face the Portuguese top-tier club in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League playoff on Thursday (from 9 PM in the LIVE ticker >>>).

Played for both clubs

However, the role of favorites is clearly defined before kick-off. Last season, Braga even reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League, where they were defeated by SC Freiburg. Austrian international Florian Grillitsch, who now plays for Serie A promoted side Frosinone, was also part of that campaign.

One player who has played for both Braga and Wiener Austria is Roland Linz. The former Austrian national team player recently spoke in an interview with "kicker" about the upcoming match. "I will definitely watch the game, but Braga's current team is completely unknown to me."

The Leoben native played a total of 205 games for Wiener Austria in his career, scoring 83 goals. For Braga, Linz appeared 51 times on the pitch and scored 20 goals.

Wave of illness as an advantage?

On paper, he naturally sees his former Portuguese club "as clear favorites." Nevertheless, he has also read about the wave of illness in the team (All info >>>).

"However, I heard that everyone there has diarrhea, which can, of course, be an advantage. They even had to cancel their game last weekend because of it," said the now 45-year-old.

Bad news for Braga: Captain misses playoff against Austria >>>

Linz looks back fondly

However, the former striker looks back fondly on his time in Portugal: "I simply loved Boavista and Braga as clubs. Along with Austria, those were the stations in my career where I felt most at home."

In the duel for a Conference League group stage spot, however, there can only be one winner. The final decision will be made next Thursday in Vienna-Favoriten.