Eight reasons for eight goals: Why Rapid is unstoppable

The KURIER has eight reasons for eight goals!

Green and white run: Rapid is surfing the wave of success
If it works, it works. Rapid has been unstoppable so far this season. In eight competitive games there were as many wins in one Goal difference of 29:5! That gives you self-confidence – and led to Hütteldorfer playing themselves into a real frenzy against GAK. The performance was “really, really good,” also praised by the coach, who is often very critical Johannes Hoff Thorup.

The top transfer delivers: four-pack from Adamsen
Toni Adamsen was Rapid’s dream striker early on. The 31-year-old, who was still playing in the Danish lower house at the age of 27, was keen to move abroad. Compatriot Hoff Thorup was also an important component in guiding the Dane to Vienna. Adamsen already scored twice in the cup, but against GAK his first Bundesliga goal wasn’t enough for him, he scored one Pack of four. “That’s wonderful, of course,” he said, overjoyed. Incidentally, it was the first four goals by a Rapid player since November 2010. Back then, Hamdi Salihi also scored four goals in a 5-0 win against LASK.

Cohesion: The focus is on the team
Even four-goal scorer Adamsen didn’t want to take too much of the credit. “A lot of it was one Team effort.” The coach nods: “The most important thing is the team that sticks together through everything. They make sure that we compensate for each other’s mistakes and that we… Walking paths for each other go.”

Self-image: The team is well coordinated
The big upheaval in the summer has not happened so far, the players know each other and their routes, the team is well-coordinated. As a result, many processes already work almost perfectly. Beautiful combinations are not uncommon, goals and victories are the logical result. “It was good football with a lot of high quality“, said Coach Hoff Thorup happily after the impressive performance against GAK.

The coach: Hope Thorup gives Rapid hope
Hoff Thorup has already experienced a lot in his coaching career – but not yet an 8-0 win. “It was probably the first time in my coaching career where I was able to sit on the bench and watch Enjoying my team’s football.” The 37-year-old Dane seems to fit in perfectly with Rapid with his calm demeanor. This year he had a complete preparation with the Hütteldorfers for the first time – no disadvantage.

Inferior opponent: The GAK hardly defended itself
“It was terrible,” analyzed GAK coach Ferdinand Feldhofer. In fact, the Graz team didn’t necessarily make scoring goals difficult for the Rapid team. That was it for Feldhofer, he was given leave on Monday.

Second spring: Yusuf Demir blooms again
Yusuf Demir was already on the verge of becoming an absolute key player. This was followed by Move to Barcelona and a blip in the career. A few years and stations later, Demir has been back in Hütteldorf since February. And the 23-year-old is appearing stronger than ever before. Physically he is in one Top conditionthe playing mood is constantly increasing, his technical skills were never in question anyway. Against GAK he scored for the first time in the Bundesliga since 2022. “He plays at a completely different level than I was used to from him,” praises the coach. “He’s working incredibly hard at the moment, especially without the ball.”

Humility: Learning from the past
There is great euphoria in Hütteldorf. But the team remains on the ground and they don’t want to know anything about the title (yet). “That is just a snapshot“, says Ercan Kara. Postscript: “But we’re hungry.” Rapid remains modest – and is probably well advised. Last year they were at the top of the table after eight rounds. This was followed by a sporting decline and a change of coach – and again no title. Everything could be different this time.