Newport County v Walsall: Sven Sprangler living his dream ahead of FA Cup tie

Sven Sprangler is living the dream.

The 31-year-old grew up in a small city north of Graz in the state of Styria in Austria’s south.

A picturesque region in a country where the passion is skiing. His journey to the Black Country is unconventional but exactly how he would have planned it.

Sprangler and his journey are unique. Austrian players in the English Football League’s lower tiers are extremely rare.

But when a young Sven was watching beloved Arsenal win league titles and FA Cups as a schoolboy in his homeland, never could he have imagined he would make the journey to become a professional footballer in Britain, and specifically England, and play in the historic competition he watched from afar.

“I've always been dreaming of playing in England and Newport gave me the chance to be a part of that,” Sprangler says.

“I was grateful for the journey and I was grateful for the experience.

“Thankfully I came to Scotland, got the chance there (at St Johnstone), and it was incredible to be from Austria to Scotland.

“Scotland was an incredible experience - but it wasn't England, and like I said, I always wanted to be in England. Thankfully that came true, and now I really enjoy every minute to be here.”

Sprangler’s Walsall face League Two rivals Newport County in the FA Cup first round at Rodney Parade on Saturday.

A relatively ordinary tie, it is unlikely to garner too much attention away from the Black Country and south Wales. But when Sprangler and his girlfriend Kerstin watched the draw from their Edgbaston home, they could not help but smile.

The midfielder spent six months on loan at Newport from St Johnstone in the second half of last season.

St Johnstone, the Perth club, was Sprangler’s route to Britain - made much more difficult in the last decade due to Brexit. He was, in his own words, not wanted by Austrian clubs and his agent had to plead for a trial in the United Kingdom.

Sprangler and partner Kerstin - an online performance coach - are loving their British adventure and the Saddlers man is living his dream in English football, a world away from his home.

“It’s totally different than here. In Austria the main sport is skiing, so it's not football, you know?” adds the midfielder, who played Europa League football for Austrian top flight side Wolfsberger, including against AS Roma and Tottenham.

“Here they love football, they live for football, and I'm always this kind of person who loves to fight for the club and do everything and get celebrated for every tackle.

“That was me, and that was one of the reasons why I fell in love with English football. When I came over and I experienced that, that was incredible.”

It did not take the Saddlers man much time to acclimatise, as he adds: “When you have a dream and you want to be there, you want it so bad. So you will accept everything.

“And for my girlfriend, she's exactly the same as me. Thankfully I passed a trial and now I am here, living in Edgbaston. It’s our first time living in or near a big city.

“We want to stay here in England. So it's for us, let's say, no-brainer. You never know what's going to happen in the future. But if we can choose, we will settle here.”

Saturday’s first round hosts Newport, in 12th, are enjoying improved form under Hayden Mullins and have lost just once in nine league games.