Moderator Marzi is living her dream and hopes to talk to Nadal

The super sports year 2024 is just a few meters from the finish line. The EURO football in Germany and the Olympics in Paris are history.

In Formula 1, Max Verstappen secured the title for the fourth time and in men’s tennis, South Tyrolean Jannik Sinner is the clear number 1.

In sports journalism in this country, women are among the biggest risers of the year.

The ORF sent a team led by Alina Zellhofer and expert Viktoria Schnaderbeck into the race at the EURO. At Sky Sport Austria, Constanze Weiss and Kimberly Budinsky are fixtures in football reporting.

The streaming service Canal+ relies on Amelie Stiefvatter and Elisabeth Gamauf-Leitner, among others, for the exclusive broadcasts of the Europa and Conference League. And the “Gala Night of Sports” was hosted by two women for the first time. The Tyroleans Karina Toth and Mirjam Weichselbraun led the way through the large selection of athletes in the Wiener Stadthalle.

ServusTV scores with a young woman from Eisenstadt. As the presenter of the show “Sport and Talk from Hangar-7” and as the face of MotoGP, 28-year-old Alina Marzi can convince a broader public of her skills.

“This was my third year at ServusTV and it gets better every year,” says Marzi, who speaks of a “real dream year” given the many exciting tasks.

The start was already tough: “The very first sports and talk show of the year was also my very first show as a presenter. I’ve been working towards it for a long time. It’s always been my dream to moderate this show,” says Marzi .

And – this evening, from 9:15 p.m., Marzi will be present again at the end-of-year program in Hangar 7 at Salzburg Airport.

The first “Sport and Talk” was a milestone

Looking back, this first talk was “a real milestone” for the Burgenland native. But the EURO in Germany also has a very special significance for them.

“It was the first European Championship for a private broadcaster. It was the first EURO for ServusTV. We all invested a lot in this project. Each and every one of us pushed ourselves to our limits and gave everything to make the European Championship a success . It was great teamwork.”

Marzi is full of praise for the experts Steffen Freund and Jan Age Fjörtoft: “They brought in a lot of experience and expertise, they welcomed me really well and in a collegial manner and introduced me to the world of football in a pleasant way.”

Marzi remembers how she was allowed to moderate from the stadium with Martin Harnik and sums it up: “The EURO was simply my absolute highlight this year. As great as the other things were, nothing can compete with it in this form.”

Pure adrenaline rush at 300km/h on the MotoGP bike

Just a few days after her European Championship appearance, Marzi had a special kind of adrenaline rush waiting for her – a ride on a MotoGP bike. “I’ve always said that if I got the chance, I would definitely take part in a MotoGP.”

No sooner said than done. Riding on Mika Kallio’s MotoGP in Spielberg was an incredible thrill for the Burgenland native – the video of Marzi’s hot ride at the Red Bull Ring.

On the first working day after the EURO, the “Höllenride” was on the agenda. “In the morning I was still fighting with myself to cancel the trip. It was absolutely wild. I have to say that I really exceeded my own limits. That was completely new territory for me. I’m a journalist and not a driver. I have Nothing to do with motorcycling.”

Marzi says: “I offered my colleagues that I would comment on my experience during the ride. But they wanted me to enjoy the adventure. Shortly before the ride, my helmet was wired up and then everyone was disappointed that absolutely nothing happened I’ve probably never been so calm in my life, I concentrated and focused so much for the three rounds that I didn’t do anything wrong and didn’t fall down.”

Sports podcast together with Peter Filzmaier

The graduate of the Eisenstadt University of Applied Sciences names her major interviews with Mikaela Shiffrin and Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, which will be shown in the run-up to the 2025 World Ski Championships in Saalbach, as well as the joint podcast with political scientist and sports fan Peter Filzmaier ( “Sport am Wort”), which will be completed at the end of the year.

And how did the former Puls4 editor, who earned her first journalistic spurs on breakfast television and in the news, end up in sports?

“Sports director Christian Nehiba brought me to ServusTV in February 2022. That was a big step for me, but also a dream. Then a job in MotoGP became available very quickly and I was offered the job. I was always enthusiastic about motorsport , but even then on four wheels. My love for tennis was new for me.”

Sports documentaries and social media as sources of information

Various sports documentaries are among Marzi’s most important sources of information. Obtaining information via social media has also become an integral part of her job. “Especially if the athletes use their channels accordingly.”

But Marzi says very clearly: “My greatest asset is probably the fact that I can be present at the motorcycle races on site. This results in a lot of informative discussions with the team bosses, mechanics or local figures. A lot of exclusive information can be collected there which I can then incorporate into the broadcasts.”

Ronaldo, Beckham, Federer… Nadal

What awaits Alina Marzi 2025? “I don’t have a bucket list that I want to work off. Of course, there are always athletes that you definitely want to get in front of the microphone.”

And who could that be? “Cristiano Ronaldo or David Beckham would be such personalities, and definitely Roger Federer too – but I would probably choose Rafael Nadal. He now has time for a detailed interview. If that were to happen for me in 2025, that would be sensational.”

Marzi is a tennis and Thiem fan and is a little sad that Austria’s long-time number 1 has ended his career.

So is your career heading towards tennis? “No, I don’t have any plans in this regard at the moment because I’m doing really well and can live my dream.”

Aside from the MotoGP season, Marzi also created a podcast with Mikaela Shiffrin and Lucas Pinheiro Braathen in the run-up to the World Ski Championships in Saalbach.

She also sees the 40-minute interviews as highlights of her professional year. Marzi is completely enthusiastic about the sports personality Shiffrin. “She is incredibly strong in her interviews. Of course I would like to have a longer conversation with Lindsey Vonn in 2025.”

Top guests at the big year-end gala

Today, Monday, from 9:15 p.m., ServusTV will take another look back at the sports year 2024 with prominent guests.

A week after the finale in Abu Dhabi, Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen honors Hangar-7, looks back on a challenging season and explains what to expect for 2025.

In the two-wheeler category, Marc Márquez returned to the winner’s podium after leaving Honda and is considered the big favorite for the 2025 World Cup with Gresini’s new move to the Ducati factory garage. In “Sport and Talk” the six-time champion describes how he did it wants to claim the sole MotoGP title record.

The two ServusTV cult experts Steffen Freund and Jan Age Fjörtoft analyze the performance of the ÖFB selection and the potential that the “Rangnick boys” still have to attract.

Dominic Thiem talks to Barbara Schett about his brilliant tennis career, which ended in the fall. And Hans Knauß looks at the spectacular developments in this Alpine World Cup winter.

Alina Marzi and Christian Brugger will moderate the show. This completes the circle for the 28-year-old, who found her place in the top league as a sports journalist in 2024.