The great Graz derby of the football round of 16 on Wednesday (18:00 / live ORF 1) was electrifying.
The first duel takes place in front of a sold out house (from 6 pm in the Sport24 live ticker) between GAK and Sturm Graz from 17 May 2007, the starting position is clear: Sturm, established in the national top flight, is the clear favorite against the second division team. After the low point in 2012, when the game was closed, he goes back and dreams of a prestigious success.
“He could have sold as many as 30,000 tickets”
“There is talk of this match from all sides, it is a great football match for Styria,” said GAK coach Gernot Messner. Tickets sold out in no time, the Merkur Arena will be filled to the maximum with 15,300 spectators. “We could have sold 30,000 tickets,” explained Matthias Dielacher, manager of the GAK. For Messner it is a look to the future. “My players should absorb this atmosphere and work towards being able to experience a similar atmosphere more often in a year or two,” said Messner, whose club aims to return to the top flight but is currently only ninth in the second division table. lies.
Liendl is looking forward to the “derby madness”
A win and three draws were recorded recently, giving GAK leader Michael Liendl reason enough to wish the “derby madness” to end. “It’s only been a problem for weeks. We haven’t done so well in the league since the draw was over, so I’m not that unhappy when the problem is off the table again,” the 36-year-old midfielder told Sky on Monday. “. The oldest of the squad is also the only one who has played every minute for the “Red Devils” this season.
With a dead pig smeared with red paint dangling from a highway bridge, fans also announced the preliminary skirmish earlier in the week, Sturm supporters with hateful slogans against the GAK marched through downtown Graz on Sunday Authorities and executives come into play with “a comprehensive operational concept and a large number of emergency services,” as they announced on Monday. From around 2pm, there are temporary road closures due to fan marches. “I hope the focus is on football,” Messner said.
Storm dreams of winning the cup
Hopefully so from Sturm. “It’s a game where you have to hide everything around you,” said sporting director Andreas Schicker. “If we bring our game, our intensity, onto the pitch, then I am convinced that we will do a lap”. For coach Christian Ilzer, whose side are just two points behind Salzburg in the league and are showing in the Europa League, this is the clear goal. After all, for the sixth time in total, for the first time since 2018, there are also plans to celebrate at the end of the season: “We want to win the cup”.
