The Austrian Cup may not be the go-to competition for glamour, but Rapid Vienna winger Christopher Drazan proved itâÂÂs not short on wonder strikes. Drazan, a 22-year-old with a glorious left peg, took advantage of a pre-prepared corner routine to equalise against SV Josko Ried in electrifying fashion.
âÂÂOur captain, Steffen Hofmann, takes the corner and Guido Burgstaller flicks it on from the front post,â Drazan explains. âÂÂWeâÂÂd worked on it in training and it felt like the right moment to try it in a match.âÂÂ
The result is one of those fleeting moments of perfection: loitering on the edge of the box, Drazan skips past his marker, runs onto the chipped pass â¨and sweeps a beautiful volley goalwards. Bending outwards, the ball whistles into the far inside netting, leaving RiedâÂÂs goalkeeper no chance.
Drazan runs over to the bench, first screaming, then with a look of joyous disbelief on his face. âÂÂI couldnâÂÂt believe it; I just went crazy,â he says. âÂÂThe ball came to me flat and at the perfect height. As soon as I hit it, I could feel it was going in.âÂÂ
Although Drazan says he hasnâÂÂt scored enough goals in his nascent career yet, this one will be hard to beat. âÂÂWe â¨might have to wait a while until we try that corner â¨routine again!â he admits.
The good news, of course, iâ¨is that the moment was captured on video, and just â¨as Drazan hurried home to do after the match, it can forever be enjoyed in glorious â¨slow-motion. Austrian Cup â¨or World Cup, no keeper on Earth was saving this one.
Interview: Titus Chalk. Illustration: German Aczel. From the February 2013 edition of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!
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