If you are looking at the Vienna Vikings’ and Stuttgart Surge’s European League of Football history, they could not be more different. While the Vikings put Europe on notice right away, winning ten regular season games and the championship in 2022, before going 12-0 in the 2023 regular season, the Surge struggled. But after an 2-8 2021 season and a winless 2022 campaign, Stuttgart finally turned it around under new head coach Jordan Neuman. With a 10-2 regular season record and a win in the wildcard round over the Wroclaw Panthers, the Swabians deservingly secured their ticket to the semi-final, where they’ll be facing the Vikings.

An interesting duel, not only due to their success this season, but because of some background history that connects the two franchises. Facing the Vikings will be a more personal game for Jordan Neuman than any other he coached in the ELF so far. That’s because the man behind the Surge’s success has been part of the Vikings’ organization as well. From 2011-2013, Neuman was Chris Calaycay’s offensive coordinator and played a big role in two Austrian Bowl and one Eurobowl championships. After three seasons with the Austrians, the American returned to Schwäbisch Hall, where he would eventually take over as the head coach. 

This makes Saturday’s game at Generali-Arena not only a matchup between a perennial powerhouse and a Cinderella story team, but also a duel of master versus apprentice. Who can take the win and advance to the European League of Football Championship? Find out on Saturday, September 15^th at 14:15 CET.