Austria is worried, for Rapid it’s not about much more than prestige: before the 338th big Viennese football derby on Sunday (5 p.m. / live Sky) the “violets” seem to be challenged in front of their home crowd. Sports director Manuel Ortlechner looked forward to a game “with a special sporting constellation”. With a home win, Austria would be in front of a full house in the master group, with a defeat there would be tremors.
If the WSG Tirol wins the parallel game in Innsbruck against Sturm Graz, the Watteners would displace the favorites from sixth place. In the event of a draw in Tyrol, Austria would be through even with a defeat. In the corner of their eye, the violets should also have the appearance of the fifth Klagenfurt in Lustenau. Rapid is already firmly at the top. For Grünweiß, it’s about not losing touch with the top three.
Basically, Austria wants to take the initiative at home. “We’re focusing on our game and don’t want to be influenced,” said coach Michael Wimmer on Friday. Of course, it is possible to react to the corresponding scores in the other games. Wimmer doesn’t see any more pressure on his team. “Everyone wants to win a derby. There’s pressure for everyone,” said the German (“I’m really looking forward to it”) before his derby premiere.
The Generali Arena has been sold out since Monday, with over 15,000 tickets sold. According to Ortlechner, however, the emotions in the stands should not spill over onto the field. “We talked to the guys that they shouldn’t approach the subject too emotionally. They should stay cool and get their work done on the pitch.” If this doesn’t work and in the end only the qualifying group emerges, one thing is clear according to Ortlechner: “Then we screwed it up ourselves.”
Wimmer wants to follow in the footsteps of a compatriot. Thomas Letsch won the derby with Austria on December 16, 2018 at the distribution group 6:1. It was the only home win in the past 19 duels of the arch-rivals in the league. This season, Austria won 2-1 in west Vienna after four 1-1 draws the previous season.
If Rapid got the championship group ticket last week thanks to a 2-0 home win against WSG, Austria had to admit defeat in Graz 1: 3. A strong storm eleven was a number too big for the error-prone Viennese. In addition, Reinhold Ranftl was warned and is missing in the derby after his fifth yellow card of the season. The offensive should revive Dominik Fitz, who is about to return to the starting XI. “There’s enough air for 60 minutes,” said Wimmer about the game designer. Andreas Gruber, who was recently ill, was back in training this week.
Martin Koscelnik returned to team training at Rapid, but in addition to the long-term absentees Nicolas Kühn, Ferdy Druijf and Maximilian Hofmann, the suspended Roman Kerschbaum and the ill Martin Moormann are absent. Nevertheless, coach Zoran Barisic thinks his squad is strong enough to get three points against the violets. “We want to play our game, not hide and be proactive,” announced the 52-year-old.
Barisic is looking forward to the derby. “It’s the game of games, especially for our fans, but it’s also very important for us, so I’m really looking forward to it. I’d prefer to only play games like that, it helps you as an athlete.” The Viennese expects a 50:50 game, the form on the day will play an important role.
Barisic does not see the starting potion as a disadvantage for Rapid. “The pressure isn’t exactly on our side, if you will. On the other hand, we also have pressure because we really want to win. I hope that the lads can bring a certain ease to all the tension.” The coach is convinced of his protégés. “The team is great and they are on the way to becoming even better.”
The fact that Rapid could promote the archrival to the qualifying group is not much more than a side note in Vienna-Hütteldorf. “It’s important that we look after ourselves,” emphasized Barisic in this context.