Christian Ilzer said he had to pinch himself a few times in the coaching zone: “An evening that you won’t quickly forget. What the boys performed today was great. You shouldn’t forget that the opponent was Red Bull Salzburg. This way of dominating Salzburg was really great and a top game from us in all facets,” beamed the Sturm coach after the double winner’s 5-0 victory over the runners-up.
Worthy farewell for Andreas Schicker
Andreas Schicker, who made his wish to move to the German Bundesliga to Hoffenheim official, could not have been made much more dignified as Sports Director. After years of development work by the sports director, Sturm overtook the “Bulls” in terms of sport last season and caused a new sensation in this encounter.
Tochi Chukwuani, Emanuel Aiwu and Mika Biereth danced with joy at the Sturm Gala © GEPA
It was a gala from the first to the last minute that Sturm put on and thrilled the audience in Liebenau. “We did exactly what Sturm Graz players do: press early and play with high energy. We rewarded ourselves with five goals,” said Mika Biereth, who was responsible for three of these goals and was understandably in a great mood. “It was probably the best game of my career,” said the Dane, “it was my first hat trick in the professional game. I will remember this day for a long time.”
In the 30th minute the striker, completely alone, sank a header to make it 2-0, in the 50th minute he increased the score with a precise shot after a bad pass from Kamil Piatkowski, and in the 62nd minute Biereth completed a wonderful combination from close range. Black and white debut scorers were responsible for the first and fifth Sturm goals of the day. The 1-0 went to Malick Yalcouyé (15th), who once again played well, and Emanuel Aiwu (76th) completed the shooting celebration with a header from a corner. More hits would have been possible.
Premiere goal and top game: Malick Yalcouyé © GEPA
“It was a good day at work. But to be honest, that doesn’t mean much for the championship, the season is still taking too long for that,” explained Biereth. Nevertheless, it was an effective goal against a shockingly defenseless “Bulls”, where coach Pep Lijnders specifically took his overwhelmed back four to task after the final whistle and admitted: “We were a shadow of ourselves.”
With Sturm, however, Salzburg also met an opponent who was able to coldly exploit various shortcomings. “In this game the team really showed their face for the first time,” said Ilzer. In the last few games things have improved step by step. Even at this stage, the 46-year-old pointed out the enormous potential of this year’s Sturm squad; in this “almost perfect game” many pieces were definitely fitted into the puzzle.
Ilzer pointed out that the Champions League defeats against Brest and Bruges were not correctly assessed by the public. While there was criticism from outside, his players gained important experience in these games. “You also learn when you lose. “It’s a big problem in football that too often emotions come in from outside and then you leave paths,” said the coach, feeling confirmed that he had followed the internal route step by step.
Ilzer repeatedly explains to his players that every society needs its heroes. “On the way up you are supported and receive a lot of energy from outside. But once you’re up, the only interesting thing is how the hero falls back down. That’s why we have to generate incredible energy from within. This work led to a very good result in this game.”
If we succeed in continuing this work, the potential for a new heroic story is undoubtedly there. This is also demonstrated by the league lead after the first home win against Salzburg since the Rasmus Hojlund Gala on July 30, 2022.
