Renny Smith's goal for WSG Swarovski Tirol in their match day 10 win over WAC was not only his first strike since moving to the club last summer, it was also the first goal by an English player in Austria since Gary Shaw netted for Austria Klagenfurt back in the 1988/89 season. Yet as we found out, Renny won't be remembered as an English scorer in the Bundesliga's history books...
INTERVIEW: TOM MIDDLER (THE OTHER BUNDESLIGA), PHOTO: GEPA PICTURES
Bundesliga-Journal: It was very exciting for us to have a new "English" scorer in the Bundesliga, but it's not quite that simple is it, so why is that?
Renny Smith: I actually have dual nationality, so I have a British passport and an Austrian passport. I was born in England, I grew up there and most of my time has been spent in England, but I have an Austrian grandfather. I’m not sure exactly what the regulations say, but the club have registered me with my Austrian passport, and I’m thankful to my grandfather for giving me the opportunity to have that.
So what did this country mean to you as a child growing up in England with some Austrian family?
It has always been something of interest to me. My grandfather grew up here, and he passed away last year, so it’s quite a touching note that I ended up coming here to play. I actually saw an identity card of his and it showed the address of where he was born in Vienna, so I went to have a look around and get a feel for the place where he grew up; it was fascinating. I’m on the other side of the country in Innsbruck of course, and it’s beautiful. I don’t speak German too well yet but I have a connection here and I feel good.
That's a lovely connection, and it even led to you representing Austria at youth level, didn't it?
Yeah, I was at Arsenal at the time, and it all happened so fast. I didn’t even have the passport then, but they sent an email one day, came to see a game and the next day I had a passport and I was flying out! I wasn’t expecting it but it was a very proud moment. I played at U18 and U19 levels a handful of times under Hermann Stadler, and hopefully in the future I can get into the first team, that’s still the goal.
You played for two massive clubs as a youth player; Arsenal and Chelsea. Were you a fan of either?
Not really, when I was very young I liked Manchester United but I changed from being a fan of a club to being a fan of a style of football. I fell in love with Pep Guardiola’s style, that’s what you have to aim for, it’s the pinnacle. I look at that Barcelona side of 2011 with Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, and they’re my role models, players with massive intelligence. I watch videos of Frank Lampard as well, as he got all those goals from midfield.
Well, those are certainly some good footsteps to follow! Is it difficult if you join a club which doesn't aspire to that playing style?
Yeah, I went to Burnley after Arsenal and it was a big change in style. I struggled, I didn’t fit right. You have to try to do what the manager wants but it doesn’t always work, it’s not always easy.
I bet! After Burnley you had a spell in Italy with a few clubs, and then things seemed to go really well once you moved to FC Dordrecht...
Dordrecht was a breakthrough for me, I scored four goals in each season, the second season was cut short by Covid as well. In football you just keep pushing and believing in your ability, and eventually it came through for me. I fitted into the system well, I played every game, and even though we weren’t overly successful we were a small team with a small budget, always playing against bigger teams. We beat FC Twente 1-0 away, so that was a highlight. I did well and I enjoyed it there.
And that good form ended up with you securing a move to WSG Tirol! What did you know about the team and the Bundesliga before you joined?
After those good seasons I had a few options and I wanted to go and play in the best league possible, a top league. WSG Tirol offered me the best opportunity; the league here is deservedly recognised as a big league now, there are some big teams with huge stadiums and lots of fans, the standard is excellent and I couldn’t wait to join!
If you aim to play football in the mould of a Pep Guardiola side, how does life at WSG Tirol suit you?
Good question! We’re playing nice football in our 4-4-2 formation. We have good tactics, we defend well, we like to press and we pick our moments when to do that and when to sit back. We have a good mix of quality, experience and hungry young players, so we can play and we like to play.
And the results are showing it! For many people, WSG Tirol have been the surprise package so far this season, and that comes after being relegated and then getting an unlikely reprieve.
The manager said in the media that it was a “second chance“, and that’s what it was. Maybe it was a bit of a kick up the backside for us. The players want to improve and do well, we go into every game wanting to win and who knows where we can end up. Staying in the top six group would be brilliant but we’re keeping calm and just focusing on each game.
And whether you count as English or Austrian, it must have been great to get your first goal for the club. Has that helped you to settle in?
For me, the best feeling in football is to score a goal. It’s what you dream about, it was wonderful and I’m hoping to get more! At the moment I’m coming off the bench mostly, but I’m here to help the team. I need to keep working hard in training so I can earn a starting place, but I love playing for the teamof WSG, so whether I get five minutes, 30 or 90 it’s always the same mindset for me.
Talking of working hard in training, how are you coping with the winter in Innsbruck?
With all this snow, our pitches are covered and we can’t do much more than running, but luckily we had a training camp in Malta which was really well organised with Covid protocols and lots of testing. We trained twice a day, had a couple of games and even won the tournament over there. It was a good boost for the second part of the season.
Midfielder Renny Smith was born in Epsom, Surrey, and his first WSG goal in December was the sign of a player adjusting well to life in Austria. His team mates may have some trouble pronouncing the „th“ in Smith, so as well as “Smiss“ he goes by the nickname “Rennaldo“!
Vocabulary
strike / Schlag/Treffer
to net / einnetzen
history books / Geschichtsbücher
dual nationality / Doppelte Staatsbürgerschaft
regulations / Bestimmungen/Verordnungen
to represent / vertreten/repräsentieren
pinnacle / Höhepunkt/Gipfel
to aspire / (etwas) anstreben
breakthrough / Durchbruch
deservedly / verdientermaßen
surprise package / Überraschungsteam
reprieve / Aufschub
kick up the backside / Ansporn
mindset / Denkweise / Mentalität
to cope / zurechtkommen
to catch / up aufholen / aufschließen
Identity card / Personalausweis
style of football / Spielweise/Spielstil
penalty / Elfmeter / Strafstoß
to get a spot / einen Platz im Team erhalten
Englisch lernen durch Fußball! Die Kollegen von The Other Bundesliga, dem englischsprachigen Podcast über den österreichischen Fußball, sprechen für jede Ausgabe des Bundesliga-Journals mit einem Legionär und liefern gleich die passenden Vokabeln dazu. Den Podcast gibt's auf otherbundesliga.com
Dieser Text ist in der Frühjahrs-Ausgabe 20/21 des Bundesliga-Journals erschienen. Die aktuelle Ausgabe mit sämtlichen Geschichten, Interviews und den Stories zu allen Bundesliga-Klubs erhalten Sie im Zeitschriftenhandel oder bequem und preiswert im Abo: https://www.bundesliga.at/de/medien/bundesliga-journal/journal-abo/
