So who are Rapid Wien, Dundalk's Europa League opponents?

It may only have been three weeks since Dundalk last faced Rapid Wien, but it’s been a long three weeks and a lot has gone on.

The last time the sides met, Maradona was still alive, Covid-19 cases were below 50 million worldwide and Donald Trump was trying to claim the US election had been rigged.

Three defeats from three in their opening fixtures, at home to Molde and away to Arsenal (for more information on Arsenal, click here) and tonight’s opponents, leaves Dundalk bottom of the group

It’s Dundalk’s second appearance at the Aviva this season, having beaten Faroese side KÍ Klaksvik in the Dublin 4 venue to book their place in the groups.

The Lilywhites had to play the Molde game in Tallaght as the Irish rugby team needed it for kicking practice ahead of their Six Nations clash with Italy, and so it was unsuitable to host a football match.

Dundalk were forced to concede defeat when UEFA dismissed their counterargument that they’re used to playing every second week in a venue that’s unsuitable to host a football match.

The sides have met already, Rapid edging out an entertaining game 4-3, but many Dundalk fans, and League of Ireland fans in general, may still be unfamiliar with them.

With that in mind, extratime.com dusted off our Encyclopaedia Britannica collection and, once we were done procrastinating, fired up Google to bring you all you need to know. We ask…

Who are Rapid Wien?

Rapid Wien (not Vienna) were founded in 1897 as Erster Wiener Arbeiter-Fußball-Club or, as Béarla, First Viennese Workers’ Football Club.

Finally the lumpenproletariat of Vienna had a team they could call their own – a club for the workers, by the workers and proudly bearing the name of the same workers. That lasted two years.

The new name, Rapid Wien, evokes the great tradition of industry-backed clubs in Europe: Lokomotiv Moskva and Rapid Bucuresti, to name two, grew from those cities’ railway works.

None of that applies here. Rapid adopted their name for the much more logical reason that Rapide Berlin did it and it sounded cool, which is at least more creative than rivals Austria Wien.

They won the first of their record 32 Austrian titles in 1911-12 and, following the Nazi annexation of Austria, they made the best of a bad situation and won the German championship as well.

Rapid thus joined an exclusive group of clubs to have won titles in both their own country and while under occupation by a foreign empire, an honour they share with Dynamo Kyiv, Dinamo Tbilisi and Derry City.

After dominating Austrian and German football for 50 years, the titles have dried up in recent years as the club have fought the twin threats of economic decline and energy drinks.

European pedigree

Rapid have a proud tradition in European competition, one that extends far beyond winning leagues in other countries.

They twice reached the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup, in 1984-85 and 1995-96, losing on both occasions, to Everton and Paris Saint-Germain.

Their run to the final in 1985 was particularly notable for their last 16 tie with Celtic, when Rapid prevailed after forcing a replay of the second leg.

Rapid player Rudolf Weinholder pretended he’d been hit by a glass bottle with Celtic leading 4-3. Rapid succeeded in having the game replayed at a neutral venue and won hilariously.

Who will League of Ireland fans recognise?

It’s true the sides only played three weeks ago and, theoretically, Dundalk fans should recognise at least 14 of the players from that game.

On the other hand, once you’ve seen one 6’2 blonde German you’ve seen them all, and there’s no way any of you can sit here and tell me you could pick one out of a line-up.

League of Ireland fans may remember the last time an Austria club played in Ireland, when Blue Bear Salzburg beat Bohemians 1-0 at the RDS in 2009.

None of the current Rapid squad were in the Salzburg squad that day, though, so it doesn’t really have any relevance here.

Do you feel like you have a better idea of who Dundalk’s Europa League opponents Rapid Wien, are now? If so, please consider becoming a patron of extratime.com for just €4 a month to help us cover running costs.