Drawing inspiration from his Olympic medallist mother, the A-League’s top striker Marc Janko shifted his focus this week from Sydney FC’s title charge to leading Austria to a first major football tournament in eight years.
Eva Janko won a bronze medal in javelin for Austria at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico. Now her son is hoping to book a place for the nation at the 2016 European Championship on the back of scintillating form on the other side of the world that has brought him an A-League best 16 goals in 19 matches this season.
The Austrian captain is one of Asia’s hottest forwards this year, outscoring previous Sydney FC marquee players Alessandro Del Piero (24 goals in 48 games) and Dwight Yorke (seven goals in 22 games).
And his national side are well placed to make it to the next Euro finals, with France 2016 seeing an increase from 16 to 24 nations. Ahead of Friday’s qualifier away to Liechtenstein, Wunderteam are four points clear at the top of Group G, from Sweden and Russia, after three wins and a draw.
Things have dramatically turned around for the giant forward – he’s 6-foot-5 – since he ended a frustrating spell with Trabzonspor to join Sydney FC last July. Playing just 23 league games over two years and scoring only two goals, he credits family support in helping him through the tough times after being released by the Turkish club.
“I’m very proud of my mother and she gave me sometimes some advice on how I can handle certain circumstances and to overcome some difficulties,” Janko told ESPN FC. “It was a lot of help obviously… everything has worked out well for me.”
The 31-year-old admits he knew next to nothing about the A-League before head coach Graham Arnold brought him to the Sky Blues for the 2014-15 season at a reported salary of more than one million US dollars a year. He joined a host of other new attacking arrivals in Alex Brosque, Bernie Ibini and Shane Smeltz and the chemistry up-front has been electric.
Janko is quick for his size, good with his back to goal and a clinical finisher who is technically adept, blessed by an ability to bring others into the game. Grabbing a hat trick against Brisbane Roar on March 15, he became the first player to score in seven straight A-League games as he eclipsed Del Piero’s 2012-13 season-best Sydney FC haul. He needs just four more goals to surpass Besart Berisha’s record tally of 19 in a single A-League regular season.
“For the first time in two years, I feel that I have my game rhythm, my game fitness, a lot of trust and a lot of faith from the coaching staff,” he said.
“This, in combination with being in a very nice place, makes things much easier.”
Living near the city centre with his fiancee, Janko can walk around largely unnoticed by a sporting public more concerned with the beginning of the Rugby League season and the culmination of the Cricket World Cup. But he remains a big star in his hometown of Vienna and at Salzburg where he scored a stunning 75 goals in 107 games for Red Bull in the Austrian Bundesliga between 2005-10.
Compared to former Manchester United star Yorke, who was known for his clubbing and partying ways as Sydney FC’s original marquee player, Janko paints a more cultured picture – with a liking for opera, musicals and cosy cafes.
Early in his career, Janko spoke openly about his ambition of playing in the English Premier League as he made his mark in Austria. But, unlike his international teammate Marko Arnautovic who joined Stoke City, Janko ended up plying his trade in the Netherlands (with FC Twente), Portugal (FC Porto) and Turkey.
“I was close to signing for an English Premier League club when I was doing well at Salzburg but things have worked out differently for me. But I am very happy with the path I have chosen and don’t regret any step,” he said.
“You can’t compare the A-League to a top European championship. But I think compared to Austria, there’s not a big difference. Holland is a little bit better league, Portugal as well. It’s because there is a lot more history behind these two championships but I think the A-League can one day reach these levels.”
Playing in a major tournament like Euro 2016 would be the highlight of his career, says Janko, who has 18 goals in 43 games at international level. Austria haven’t qualified for the European Championship since 2008 and were last in the World Cup finals in 1998.
“We are well aware that we are in a good position now but we have to collect many more points to reach our goal,” he said. “We still have six games and everything can happen.”
With a javelin throwing mother and an equally athletic father – Herbert Janko won several national high jump titles — it perhaps wasn’t surprising that young Marc would choose the life of a professional sportsman.
“It was in my genes. I always had the football next to me and sometimes I even fell asleep with it. It was always a big part of my life, sport. I don’t remember anything about my Mum’s career. I only know it from pictures and from some videos what she has achieved. It is of course a big thing what she has done for Austria.”
How Janko would love to bring glory to the red and white flag just like his mother did almost half a century ago. And he’s not even complaining about the extra long commute from Sydney to the Euro qualifiers. After all, it was in the distant harbour city where big Marc got his mojo back.
Jason Dasey is Senior Editor of ESPN FC (formerly ESPN Soccernet), Borneo’s most popular football website which has a Southeast Asia edition. Twitter: @JasonDasey