Austrian club Wolfsberger AC unexpectedly created history by qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League for the first time ever, with their underdog story surprising the entire footballing world.
The most of them all was definitely Wolfsberger AC Club President Dietmar Riegler, who was so certain of elimination from the group stages that he decided to have a bet on it: one that he would spectacularly go on to lose, along with all the hair from his head.
Club President Riegler placed a bet on Wolfsberger getting eliminated from a comparatively tough group by their competitors’ standards, and pledged to have his head shaved in the improbable scenario of his club’s qualification into the knock out stages.
When Wolfsberger achieved a 1-0 victory against Feyenoord in their last game in the group stages of the Europa League this mid week, it guaranteed them qualification into the Round of 32: something they never have done before, with their best ever finish in the competition coming as a fourth place finish in their group in the 2019/2020 season.
A happy Riegler was pictured having his head shaved while having a glass of beer, celebrating his club’s improbable, unprecedented success.
The club playing in the Austrian Bundesliga have turned a lot of heads this season by qualifying above Feyenoord and CSKA Moscow for the knockout stages of Europe’s second tier continental club competition.
Their journey to the knockout stages for the first time in their history has been nothing short of a tale sprinkled with fairy dust, advancing in second position from a group featuring the likes of much more experienced campaigners in European competition: names such as Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord and CSKA Moscow.
Club President Riegler would love to see his club club advance deeper into the knockout stages: and he might not even shy away from much more dangerous wagers if it keeps paying off for his club.
