Dragović: ‘We're going all-in in the derby!’

It's derby time again! Next Sunday (5 p.m.), the Violets will play their eternal rivals from Hütteldorf. It's the 343rd edition of what coach Stephan Helm calls ‘Austria's biggest football match’. The visitors' section has been sold out for weeks. Aleks Dragović knew at today's press conference what will be important: ‘Fight, scratch, run! We will go all-in.’

Coach Stephan Helm on...

...his first Vienna derby as head coach:
‘It's the biggest football match here in Austria. That's why we're even more emotional about it. We want to bring our best performance to the pitch. I'm a football romantic at heart. Matches with a healthy rivalry, especially the Vienna derby, are a huge football festival. These games show why football is the most popular sport in the world.’

...the derby preparation:
‘We focussed on the players individually during the international break. We used the time to prepare specifically for Sturm Graz. The cancellation gave us extra training time. We used this time to prepare for the derby. We want to become clearer in our game structure, what do we do with the ball, what do we do against the ball? We worked on certain things during the week and the team really pulled together, which makes me feel very positive.

...his relationship with the team:
‘We've now reached a point where there's a certain trust and respect between me and the team. The job of a coach is to lead players to where they often don't believe they can go. I am convinced that we can still play much better.’

Aleks Dragović on...

...his first Vienna derby in almost 14 years:
‘I'm really looking forward to it. Playing a derby again after so many years feels like I'm a newcomer. Everyone knows: the derby has its own rules. Rapid played a good European Cup qualifier. I don't want to talk big, we have respect for our opponents. Even if they are the favourites on paper, we have to look after ourselves. The fans expect us to give everything for the club for 90 minutes. The coach has set us up well. The most important thing is that we can look ourselves in the mirror after the game and say that we gave everything!’

...playing system and headwind:
‘We're focussing on our match plan. It's going to be very loud, 90 per cent of the fans are against us, but the away sector is sold out. We still have a score to settle after our last defeat. The only thing that counts for me is: all-in! We have to be good defensively, but we also need phases of possession. It will be a fight, scrape, run. One more step, one more foul, one more goal. Then we can hold our own there.’

Personnel news

Florian Wustinger is back in team training, Johannes Handl is already training individually. It would still be too early for both to play in the derby. Luca Pazourek and Ziad El Sheiwi are still out of contention.