Sturm Graz against Salzburg: With heavy luggage to the summit meeting

Storm – Salzburg. Top nationally, still a flop in the Champions League – Austria’s strongest teams are fighting for the top of the league, but they also have completely different worries

If on Sunday Storm Graz Salzburg asks for a duel (5 p.m./live on Sky), then it’s champion against runner-up. Champions League starters against Champions League starters. League leaders versus leaders by lost points. In short: It is the best that Austrian club football has to offer currently and in recent years. And yet there is currently a lot of rumblings at both clubs.

While we are still at the forefront nationally, it doesn’t seem to be enough at the highest level internationally at the moment. For neither club. The bitter balance after a total of four games in the premier class (two each) is: zero points, 1:10 Tore. And the one goal was an own goal from a Brest player against Sturm. They are in the table Graz in 31st place, Salzburg in 34th place. The chances of promotion are slim, even though only a quarter of the games have been played.

Because things are not going as planned internationally, the importance of the national league is of course increasing. And with it that of the Sunday hit. In the previous season there were three draws and a Salzburg win in Graz. Sturm prevailed in the cup back then.

For the two clubs, it’s not just about asserting themselves at the top or in the top group. It’s about bringing peace back. Because Construction sites There are a few at both clubs, as the KURIER knows.

Sturm Graz: homesickness of the fans and wanderlust of the sports director

When storms wander into the distance, happiness is not close at hand. No, Graz’s performances in the Champions League were not shameful, just as one would expect given the class differences. 1:2 at Brest, 0:1 against Brugge. Close, but so far away. “Against such top European clubs, everything has to work in order to score points. There is a class difference, not just in terms of experience,” says coach Christian Ilzer.

ExperienceThis could perhaps also be missing in the league. The injuries to veterans Gregory Wüthrich and Jon Gorenc-Stankovic are very painful. The Swiss central defender has already had knee surgery, walks without crutches and should be able to help the team again in six to eight weeks. After his elbow injury, Gorenc-Stankovic also has to take a break at least until December. The market for “unemployed professionals” is being carefully searched; replacements could come.

Stadium Another construction site will probably become a construction site very soon. The Liebenau stadium should finally be made suitable for the Champions League and expanded to 20,000 seats. At the moment the champions have to move to Klagenfurt for the premier class, which the fans and the team don’t like at all (Jusuf Gazibegovic: “Really sh…”).

Sports director The successful sports director Andreas Schicker, whose move to Hoffenheim is the number one topic of conversation in the Sturm camp, is causing great concern.

Salzburg: Raging fans and shaky defenders

Everything seemed to be going well under the new coach Pep Lijnders until they qualified for the Champions League, then things broke. And ever since the 4-0 debacle against Brest, things have been rumbling in Salzburg – on and off the pitch. The following construction sites must be closed as soon as possible:

Fan-Protest When the Red Bull Salzburg fans, who are otherwise known to be rather civilized, sing “Bullenschweine”, then there is fire on the roof. This happened after the Brest game because the team didn’t say goodbye. The reason for this was that the fans loudly called for Alexander Schlager to score after a mistake by keeper Janis Blaswich. The relationship with the supporters is tense. What does Lijnders do? Does he demote Blaswich, who he immediately made number one and captain in the summer and who has now been called up to the DFB squad? Hardly.

Residual defense This is probably the biggest problem area for Salzburg at the moment. If the high pressing doesn’t work, the backward movement doesn’t work. Not an easy game for the defenders, but they also lack quality. A caliber like Strahinja Pavlovic (now AC Milan) is missing.

Exploitation of opportunities While scoring goals was going quite well at the start of the season, problems have recently emerged here too. Against Brest they played well going forward, but they couldn’t get the ball into the goal. “We have to show a reaction,” demands Lijnders.