Vasilije Markovic Picks Austria Over Serbia
Austria coach Ralf Rangnik called eighteen-year-old midfielder Vasilije Markovic into the senior national team right after Serbia's football federation showed interest in signing him.
News reached the Austria Vienna dressing room faster than anyone in Belgrade could deliver it themselves. The phone rang, Ralf Rangnik’s name flashed on the screen, and on the other end was Vasilije Markovic, the eighteen-year-old midfielder the Football Association of Serbia (FAS) had only just begun courting to pull on the jersey with the eagle crest.
The moment word got out in Belgrade that FAS was banking on the Vienna-born player, there was no hesitation in Austria. The Austria national team head coach acted immediately and added Markovic to the squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures, a move that, at least on paper, locked the young midfielder into his birth country’s setup before Serbia could even get a call in.
The Number Behind the Rush
The numbers explain why two national teams are fighting over him. This season Markovic has played 11 matches for Austria Vienna’s first team, counting the domestic league and Conference League qualifiers, starting in most of them. Novosti puts his market value at 3 million euros, a serious figure for a player barely out of his teenage years.
He has been at the club since age nine and has come up through the entire academy, and just days ago he signed a new contract running through 2029. He first made his mark on the first team in the spring, when at 17 years and 335 days old he became one of the youngest starters in the history of the Vienna derby between Austria and Rapid, and in that very first start, against Hartberg, he set up a goal.
Last autumn he won silver with Austria’s under 17 team at that age group’s World Cup. Kurir reports the final was played in Qatar, while Novosti does not specify a location and simply notes he finished runner-up at the World Cup.
What the Club Is Saying
Austria Vienna’s sporting director, whose name three outlets spell three different ways (Thomas Korn per B92, Thomas Corn per Novosti, Thomas Zorn per Kurir), did not hide his satisfaction once Markovic received the call-up:
“I’m delighted that Vaso has been called up to the Austria national team. At the same time, it’s a strong signal for our entire club, because after many years we will have a player in the national team.”
Before Rangnik’s call came through, while the question of which jersey he would wear was still open, the same official had said the choice was not his to make:
“Both paths are possible. The decision is always up to the player.”
Kurir reports that he added, after that statement, that in his impression Markovic still leans more toward Austria than Serbia. According to Novosti, the player himself had previously confirmed that his dream is to play for the senior team of the country where he has spent his entire life.
When Could Markovic Debut for Austria?
Sources differ on the exact schedule. Kurir lists the sequence of matches as September 24 against Israel, September 27 against so-called Kosovo, October 1 away to Ireland, and October 4 again against so-called Kosovo. B92 writes only that Austria has four Nations League matches ahead against Israel, Ireland and so-called Kosovo, without giving dates, and Novosti mentions the same three opponents, also without a precise schedule.
If he takes the field, Markovic would be following in the footsteps of Marko Arnautovic and Aleksandar Dragovic, players of Serbian descent who once faced the same choice and ultimately wore the Austrian jersey.
For FAS, this is a battle lost before it even began. While Belgrade was still drawing up its squad list, Vienna already had a signature on a contract through 2029, a call from the head coach, and, by Kurir’s schedule, a date for a possible debut: September 24, against Israel, in Vienna. The next time someone from the diaspora shows up on the radar, the federation’s offices at the Old Palace should move faster, because Rangnik clearly is not waiting around.
