It's about the future: Who can SV Ried still rely on?

Before today’s home game of SV Guntamatic Ried in the qualifying group of the soccer Bundesliga against WSG Tirol (7.30 p.m., Josko Arena), plain language was spoken: After the embarrassing performance against Hartberg (1: 3), the Innviertler kickers had to get away from the sports directors Thomas Reicheltshammer and Wolfgang Fiala as well as coach Maximilian Senft had a lot to say: “Everyone was very self-critical – first internally, then with the team. It was a morning that stood for clarity, which could also be uncomfortable at times,” says Ried Coach Maximilian Senft.

After the cleansing thunderstorm, however, we immediately looked ahead again: “From the first day of the training week it was clear that the team wants to meet their own standards in every training session and we want to appear with a different body language than in the Hartberg game . The boys turned their own dissatisfaction into a good week of training.”

Dance video and rumor mill

There were also consequences for one or the other Ried kicker: As reported, midfielder Kingsley Michael will no longer play a role for SV Ried this season. The summer loan from FC Bologna danced away the Bundesliga frustration in a live video on Instagram after the final whistle against Hartberg – the Nigerian was not in the squad for this game. The midfielder’s social media appearance is now fatal: Michael, who only made a brief appearance under Senft, will no longer play any games for Ried. “We are in contact with Bologna, they understand our actions,” says sporting director Thomas Reicheltshammer. However, the contract has not yet been terminated – this is also due to whether the Italian Serie A club can accommodate Michael with its partner club Montreal Impact in the MLS.

Michael Martin also took Ried’s officials to heart. The 22-year-old has been busy sharing rumors about other clubs’ possible interest in him on social media in recent weeks. Reicheltshammer: “Michael has played well this season, but we made it clear to him that something like that is not beneficial.”

Deadline for options

If the German and his colleagues don’t manage to improve their performance today, dreams of foreign transfers will take care of themselves anyway. Other Ried kickers are also literally playing for their own future today: David Ungar, Julian Turi, Philipp Pomer, Leo Mikic and Seifedin Chabbi have options to extend their contracts, which must be taken by tomorrow. Definitely not an issue today: Marcel Ziegl, one of the great hopes of Rieder, is out due to injury.