Schmid: "We take the Cup very seriously"

Austria Wien will kick off the new 2022/23 season on Saturday (5:15 p.m.) at FC Wels. The anticipation for the first round of the ÖFB Cup is great, the motivation at least as high. The role of favorites clearly lies with the violets, but coach Manfred Schmid demands the utmost concentration.

The last few weeks were tough and made the Violets sweat. After the test matches against SKN St. Pölten, FCM Traiskirchen, First Vienna FC, AS Monaco and FC Marchfeld, the first competitive match of the new season is finally on the agenda. The Violets will play FC Wels in the second largest city in Upper Austria.

"The anticipation is very high, my coaching team and the players can hardly wait to play the first competitive match," said head coach Manfred Schmid before the departure on Friday afternoon. One thing is clear: "This is definitely not a test for us for the Bundesliga opener against Salzburg. We're taking the Cup very seriously and we'll be doing that from the start."

"Bringing our quality onto the pitch"

Wels were relegated from the Regionalliga Mitte by the narrowest of margins last season and only on the last matchday, and will be back in the fourth-tier OÖ Liga in 2022/23. In the first three preparatory games, there was a goalless draw against ATSV Neuzeug, against SK Kammer and Bad Hall there were two defeats for the young team of neo-coach Mujo Candic.

In any case, Austria is the clear favorite, but the task is certainly not underestimated. "We are well advised to go into this game fully focused and bring our quality to the pitch. With all due respect to FC Wels, we must look to ourselves and deliver a top performance. If we succeed in doing that, we will have no problems and can tank up on self-confidence."

Info for Austria fans

The hosts expect more than 2,000 visitors at the HUBER Arena. Remaining tickets are available on site (full price 15 euros, reduced 10 euros, children up to 15 years free).

As parking spaces around the stadium are limited, FC Wels asks to arrive by public transport. From Vienna, Wels main station can be reached by trains of ÖBB and Westbahn in about two hours.

From the station, bus line 3 goes directly to the HUBER Arena, bus line 4 stops at the Noitzmühlstraße/Salzburger Straße station, from there it is about a ten-minute walk to the sports field.

Infos zur Anreise

Die Gastgeber erwarten mehr als 2.000 Besucherinnen und Besucher in der HUBER Arena. Restkarten sind vor Ort erhältlich (Vollpreis 15 Euro, Ermäßigt 10 Euro, Kinder bis 15 Jahre frei).

Nachdem die Parkplätze rund um das Stadion limitiert sind, bittet der FC Wels um eine Anreise mit öffentlichen Verkehrsmitteln. Von Wien aus ist der Welser Hauptbahnhof mit Zügen der ÖBB und der Westbahn in rund zwei Stunden erreichbar.

Vom Bahnhof aus fährt die Buslinie 3 direkt zur HUBER Arena, Buslinie 4 hält bei der Station Noitzmühlstraße/Salzburger Straße, von dort sind es noch etwa zehn Gehminuten zum Sportplatz.