Martin Hiden has been there and done that. Not many of his Austrian teammates can say the same.
The 35-year-old central defender is one of only two players in the current squad who will play at next month's European Championship and who also took part in the 1998 World Cup in France, Austria's last major tournament. The 38-year-old forward Ivica Vastic is the other veteran.
But the team has come a long way in between, especially with the return of Josef Hickersberger as national team coach in 2006, and the influx of young players.
"Things have changed drastically over the past 10 years," Hiden said. "Back in 1998, we had two or three players aged 25, all the others were around 30."
Austria, which co-hosts the tournament with Switzerland, starts its campaign against Croatia on June 8. It will also play Poland and Germany in Group B.
Hiden, the first Austrian outfield player in the Premier League when he was with Leeds from 1998-2000, made his international debut in early 1998. Back then, Andreas Herzog and Toni Polster were the dominating personalities, but those days are long over.
"Now the atmosphere is quiet and funny. In 1998, sparks would fly more often," said Hiden, who scored his only international goal in 48 matches in Austria's 4-1 win over San Marino in a 2000 European Championship qualifier.
In club soccer, Hiden had an up-and-down season.
His place in the national team was put in danger when he was benched by Rapid Vienna early in the season; Hickersberger has a policy to overlook players who are not regular starters.
However, Hiden was loaned to Austria Kaernten, which was in last place at the time. But Hiden became one of the team's key players and prevented it from relegation.
In the meantime, Rapid Vienna went on to win the Austrian league title.
"I have accomplished my mission in Kaernten," Hiden said. "I am looking forward to be back at Rapid Vienna."
At Euro 2008, the experienced Hiden is expected to play a key role in central defense along with Middlesbrough's Emanuel Pogatetz. They'll be hoping to end Austria's poor run of results, which has seen them win only one match since November 2006.
"I can only say that I will definitely try to get the best out of me," Hiden said.
