HIGHLIGHTS: WAC humiliates Gladbach at the start of the Europa League
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“When I returned to Austria in January, I expected to stay in England,” said Struber – but it was known that things turned out differently. The New York Red Bulls knocked on him and he said yes. Struber inhaled the Red Bull DNA right from the start of his coaching career. Struber coached various Salzburg junior teams, among others Liefering or the Salzburg Youth League team 2017 and 2018. “I know the philosophy of how we want to play, I know some people in the Red Bull world and also know about the high goals and the high standard,” says the neo-coach, who already sees an advantage in his new job. Struber also gave this philosophy as the reason for his quick change again. “New York really wanted me and I saw the chance to realize my ambitious goals of developing myself as a coach and the players.”
According to Struber, the quality of the US league MLS is high. She is South American in character, so she has a high level of playfulness and her physique is comparable to the English championship. The big difference to Austrian or other European leagues, however, is the sphere of influence that a coach has. “There is tactically a leeway and this is exactly where the levers must be used”. The goals that Struber pursues with the bulls are typical of the winged teams. Above all, young players are to be trained so that the Red Bulls New York “can use them as a trampoline for jumping to Europe”. The inconsistent performances of the Americans in the past seasons should also be stopped under Struber: “Of course we want to establish ourselves at the very front in the league and fight for the title and are therefore constantly looking for young, hungry players.”
Despite the focus on the youngsters, the only Austrian in the squad remains in New York. With Daniel Royer Struber has a seasoned professional who has established himself in the MLS in recent years and the Struber remains included in Struber’s planning.
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Struber, who before his engagement in New York often with Jesse March was in contact, also sprinkles roses for Austrian football. He is repeatedly asked internationally about what a good job Austria is doing in the development of players. “Austria is well on its way to training young players, as they would be rewarded with a lot of playing time – that makes Austria a very interesting market”. In any case, he does not want to completely rule out that one or the other player from the domestic Bundesliga accompanies Struber to the Big Apple. The next few weeks and months will be about preparing for the coming season, when European players will also help the New York Red Bulls. Exactly when the season will start is not yet known due to the corona pandemic, which also complicates the planning a bit, as the preparation can only start six weeks before the start of the season. But then Struber and his team should go to the training camp in the sunny city of Florida.
Until then, however, Struber still spends the time in his home town of Kuchl with his family. Unlike the last stations, this will follow Struber across the Atlantic in order to enjoy “the family life we always wanted”. One can hope that this will be similar to sporting success.
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