2023-06-30 13:21:54
As the last of the twelve Bundesliga clubs, Wiener Austria started preparations for the new season on Friday. With the exception of Moritz Wels, who was still slightly ill after an illness, coach Michael Wimmer welcomed all his newcomers to the training ground behind the Generali Arena and was optimistic about three weeks before the “emergency” in the cup. At least he didn’t dislike the rumors about a commitment from Aleksandar Dragovic.
The departures Lukas Mühl, Georg Teigl, Nikola Dovedan and Doron Leidner were no longer there. But team players like Matthias Braunöder, Manuel Polster (U21), Christian Früchtl (DFB-U21) and Marvin Martins (Luxembourg), who were active for their national selections last week, were still missing the day after the performance tests in the gym. Central defender Tin Plavotic (ex-Ried), full-backs Marvin Potzmann (LASK) and Hakim Guenouche (Austria Lustenau) and Israeli right-winger Silva Kani (Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv) were new to sweating in purple.
The program in the coming weeks is tight. Fourth division side Schrems will already face the first of six game comparisons on Saturday, the highlight being the encounter with the Turkish champions Galatasaray on July 24th. In about three weeks, things will get serious for the first time in the cup game at fourth division SV Spittal/Drau. On July 27th, the adventure of the Conference League qualification starts against the Bosnian representative Borac Banja Luka. And the following weekend, the home game against runner-up Sturm Graz gave the Bundesliga a cracking start.
“It’s quite a task,” said Wimmer after the first session, considering the short time until the start. And the German, who was engaged in the winter, reiterated his content-related goals. “We want to stop the many easy goals we conceded, and we also have to use the lever with the set pieces – we conceded 18 goals there. But also in the game going forward we want more balance between own ball possession and determination.”
The current squad basically finds Wimmer’s approval, but the 43-year-old would not resist well-known newcomers. Such could be ÖFB ex-team player Dragovic, who has been repeatedly associated with a move from Red Star Belgrade to his home country in recent weeks. “I wouldn’t complain if such a top player came along,” explained Wimmer. Recently, the loan of the eleven-time Turkish U21 team kicker Ömer Beyaz was rumored in the media, who would come from Wimmer’s former club VfB Stuttgart.
Wimmer did not want to comment more precisely on the rumor, nor on the possible departures of goal machine Haris Tabakovic, goalie Früchtl, Braunöder or Dominik Fitz. “Haris is certainly interesting, but we’re also interesting. We’ve got interesting goals, we’ve created something with the European Cup and the players appreciate that,” said Wimmer. In any case, he couldn’t integrate too many newcomers in the short preparation time: “So that you don’t start somewhere from scratch.”
The youngest member of the coaching staff, Franz Schiemer, also made his debut on Friday. The 25-time ÖFB team player, who played for the “Violets” from 2005 to 2009, will support Wimmer’s team as a consultant. “My hobby is analyzing our game, I can contribute a lot, especially in the post-match analysis,” explained the 37-year-old. Schiemer will commute between his native Innviertel and Vienna.
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