Austria goalgetter Modesta Uka: “You have to let her play”

“Sleep. That always helps.” The next day Modesta Uka also took a long bed rest. Although Tuesday’s success was not celebrated with a big party, Uka slept until midday. “After a win you just need sleep,” she says.

Austria-Coach Stefan Kenesei knows what he has in the 27-year-old. “She always puts herself at the service of the team, has outstanding technique with her left foot and physical power,” he diagnoses. “She is a great team player,” says captain Carina Wenninger. “A player who makes people want to come to the stadium.” On Tuesday we saw that she can make a difference at the highest level. The captain attests to her “brutally good finish, especially with her left foot.” “She can be a difference player, especially in games like this,” says Kenesei. “That’s why we really wanted to have them.”

Uka came from in the summer of 2025 Storm Graz to Austria. According to the coach, she built up her “physical power” primarily in Vienna. Uka, who was born in a small village in Kosovo, came to Austria at the age of 14. Back home she played football “in the garden or on the street”. She only came to the club in Styria.

In addition to her skills on the pitch, both coaches and teammates say the Kosovar has a “big heart”. “We just really like Modi in the team,” says Wenninger. She spreads a good mood and a good atmosphere in the team. “It enlivens the cabin,” says Kenesei appreciatively.

But add that Uka is definitely a “free spirit”. “That can be demanding for a coach.” He doesn’t go into detail, but adds: “You can’t tie her up in a corset, you just have to let her play. She enjoys our trust and repays us with her performance.” Uka says she needs to feel free to play well. And in the current Austria team, that’s a simple matter.

League phase with Austria

Who Vienna Austria will play against in the league phase of the Women’s Champions League will be decided next Friday. If she could wish for an opponent, it would be Real Madrid, says Uka, who reveals herself to be a Cristiano Ronaldo fan. “He’s the greatest!”

The draw is scheduled for September 4th at 12 p.m. Teams like that are waiting among the 18 opponents FC Arsenal, Bayern Munichdefending champion Barcelona or Manchester City.

Stefan Kenesei wants “six cool games in which we are challenged and in which many fans want to come to the stadium”. Austria wants to “sell itself dearly, deliver results and collect points”. The Olympic idea doesn’t count for him here.

The first matchday is for the 22nd/23rd. scheduled for September.