Fitz: ‘Either you got it or you don't’

Dominik Fitz, a “Violet” since 2006, speaks before the top game against RB Salzburg (Sunday, 5pm) about his free-kick strength, courage for creativity & hard work in the physical area. The 20-year-old from Vienna also reveals whose critical comments he would miss and why the current team reminds him of the incentive of his youth.

In the run-up to the top game, Dominik Fitz likes to think back to his first Bundesliga goal in the last home win against RB Salzburg (4-0, May 27^th, 2018) and is excited about his next game against them: ‘Salzburg’s game is great, we can expect the hardest game of the year. We shouldn’t make any mistakes in the back and have to be efficient up front,’ says the former Austria Wien rookie.

In his many years as a Austria Wien rookie and amateur player, Fitz was exceptionally dangerous: ‘In the Bundesliga, of course, scoring is more difficult, especially since we are not currently playing the dominant football which is our aspiration - we definitely have to improve, but of course I personally want to become even more dangerous,’ says Fitz.

Specialist for the resting ball because of extra training

Without thinking and visibly confident Dominik Fitz grabbed the ball in Altach after the referee's whistle and scored with the free-kick just as well as he did the week before in the friendly game against the Juniors OÖ. If I score Alex Grünwald doesn't mind that I make the free-kick,’ says Fitz with a smile and explains:

‘I used to score free-kick goals in my youth, but not for a few years now, hopefully I will get a run again’. This regained strength is in no way a coincidence, Fitz practices direct free-kicks from various positions regularly after training, sometimes together with Manprit Sarkaria, Dominik Prokop and Patrick Wimmer, but mostly alone.

Development of defensive work & physicality

Fitz has also grown in the physical area in recent months. He used the individual training with physiotherapist Christoph Lichtenecker consistently - due to an abdominal muscle injury Fitz was not taking part in the training camp: ‘The exercises were perfectly customised to me; we only did what I needed.’

With a lot of creativity the 20-year-old is well equipped for his position: ‘I don't think you can really train creativity, either you got it or you don't - that's why I try all the more in areas like physicality and improving my defensive work which both can be developed through hard training.’

Family: Great support & critical exchange

For 14 years, the Viennese has received feedback not only from Austria Wien coaches, but also from his father: ‘I talk to him a lot about football. He's like my manager and often tries to explain things to me, we don't agree on everything, but that’s okay - if he didn't say anything, I would miss his comment and it would be a sign that he is pretty mad,’ Fitz jokes.

His family has always stood behind him, and since he started playing for Austria Wien in 2006, they have been watching every game, mostly in the stadium or, as recently, at home together in front of the television.

After 14 years: ‘At the moment unimaginable to play somewhere else’

‘It feels great to be a regular at the club I've been playing at for 14 years. With that I achieved my first big goal. For me it is just unimaginable to play anywhere else than at Austria Wien,’ says Dominik Fitz, who occasionally plays tennis with friends as a recreational sport, where he is also very ambitious and wants to be a role model for the upcoming Austria Wien players form the academy:

‘Back then, as a boy, it was always an incentive for me to see “Violets” in the A-team who were former violet rookies. It's great that we currently have some in our team.’ With Alexandar Borkovic, Manprit Sarkaria, Alex Grünwald, Michael Madl and Dominik Fitz, five players were playing in Altach who were trained at the Austria Academy.