Austria champion maker Kenesei: “Hanshaw is a very special transfer”

The reigning double winner guided the 32-year-old full-back from West Ham United to the federal capital. “It’s a very special transfer,” commented head coach Stefan Kenesei in an interview with KURIER. A move directly from the Premier League to the Austrian Bundesliga is a magnitude that, according to the champion maker, will no longer happen in the foreseeable future.

“The financial factor is becoming bigger and more relevant,” emphasized Kenesei. “At the moment it is not the case that the worlds are as far apart for women as for men. But I believe that in the future it will no longer happen so often that players from the best clubs in the best leagues move to Austria.” According to the 41-year-old, the finances, the general conditions and the strength of the league are the decisive factors.

Hanshaw once left the USC Landhaus Vienna and Austria at the age of 16 as a top talent. In her career, the defender made stops at Eintracht Frankfurt, AS Roma and most recently in London. The left-footed woman has now returned home as a neo-“violet”. Kenesei made it clear that this transfer was successful due to three points: “On the one hand, it is the environment. We share the training ground, the gym and the stadium with the men. We have very good infrastructural conditions and are at a high level compared to other European players.”

Secondly, the reigning double winner is improving in quality of play season after season. The team has a lot of passion and mentality as well as a plan with a clear game idea. For players like Hanshaw, it is attractive to see “that she can play successfully and professionally with an Austrian team.” The head coach cited the city as the third point – Hanshaw played for SV Essling and FC Stadlau in her youth, among others.

Kenesei: “Not a flash in the pan”

However, it wasn’t just Hanshaw who was signed on the transfer market. Eleven-time goalscorer Patricia Pfanner (22) joins the team from First Vienna FC. Red Bull Salzburg will have to do without captain Lucia Orkic (21), who is also joining Austria. Also coming are Andrea Glibo (24) from the fallen series champion SKN St. Pölten and Sandra Jakobsen (27) from Sturm Graz. With this increase in quality, Wiener Austria wants to make history and qualify for the league phase of the Women’s Champions League for the first time. “We got a little taste of it last year with the 0-0 draw in Paris,” said Kenesei. “We want to get there this year via the championship route and with a little luck.”

The first hurdle awaits on August 5th with the game against Hajduk Split. The game will be played in Mura, Slovenia, as part of a mini-tournament in the first qualifying round of the “Champions Path”. If they win, they will face either Mura or Farul Constanța on August 8th for promotion to the next round.

“Then the circle is…”

Nationally, ideally, they want to defend both titles, but their expectations are realistic enough: “We know that the other clubs haven’t been sleeping and have also become active on the transfer market.” It is clear that the success should be continued sustainably – the Violets do not want to be “a flash in the pan” in Austrian football history. The start will take place on August 1st with the top game against SKN St. Pölten in Vienna.

This means that Vienna Austria is the big hunted in the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. Even if the goals on home soil are clearly defined, Kenesei warns against the fallacy that you will now automatically become series champions along the lines of USV Neulengbach or SKN St. Pölten: “It’s not a given that you have leased the titles for the next ten years. I don’t think it will happen again that a team wins all the titles for ten years. I wouldn’t be against it if we won the next ten years, but it’s like with the men: if If the clubs work well and invest money, the league will be more balanced. Then the circle of potential champions and cup winners will simply be larger than in the past.”