How the Austrian coach of LASK opponent Cercle Bruges ticks

If on Thursday Cercle Bruges for the SHOT comes to Linz, then it could be unpleasant for the athletes. Unpleasant is how the smaller club in the city of Bruges is repeatedly called.

People don’t like playing against Cercle Brugge in Belgium. An Austrian is responsible for this: Miron Muslicthe club’s head coach for a good two years, understands this term well. The 42-year-old has led the club to sixth and fourth places in the past two seasons.

He loves being an unpleasant opponent and says: “We define ourselves by playing against the ball and by intensity.” That means: Cercle doesn’t have much for beautiful ball relays and combinations. It’s about pressing, constant aggressive attacks and quick switching. If you have the ball, you’re happy to have it high forward beaten and sprinted after.

This type of football gives you something of a unique selling point in the Belgian league. But this style has now propelled the club into the group or league phase of an international competition for the first time.

New rhythm, old game idea

And now they are guests at LASK in the Conference League on Thursday. After a 6:2 win against St. Gallen and a 1:3 defeat against Week in Reykjavik Miron Muslic plans to score points again this time. Three wins in the last three competitive games leave the former striker from Wörgl or Ried Now we can take a deep breath after a mixed start to the season. “This is the first time the club has ever played in a three-day rhythm and it took time for everyone to get used to this pressure,” says Muslic. In addition, fourth place last season also aroused desire and the team also had to cope with a personnel change.

In any case, they remained true to their own style, despite the upheaval and difficult start to the season. “The whole of Belgium has adapted to us. But this game idea is and remains our foundation,” says the coach. “The challenge for us was just to adapt to the tight rhythm of the game.”

Longest serving coach of Belgium

The LASK should now feel that this has been achieved on Thursday. Miron Muslic is aware that Austria has experience with intensive pressing. Of course that too Markus Schopp represents a completely different kind of football. A duel of opposites? “Absolutely. Markus Schopp wants to dominate his teams through possession of the ball, he follows this meticulously everywhere, I have great respect for his work.”

Muslic also enjoys appreciation at his place of work. The game in Linz is his 97th competitive game as Cercle head coach. “I’m the longest-serving coach in the Belgian league, here the coaches take turns.”

And if he has his way, he’ll happily stay longer. Even if he is alone in Bruges, while his wife and three children (19, 14 and seven years old) live in the Salzkammergut in Upper Austria. “Bruges is incredibly beautiful, the quality of life is very high. But the absence of my family is bothering me.” A European Cup away game at home is welcome.