Home
Manfred Schmid
|
19.11.2021
"Our goal is to overtake Klagenfurt"
Austria Wien plays against Austria Klagenfurt on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and can overtake the fourth-placed team in the table with a win in a direct duel: "We have to be one hundred percent focused and deliver our performance to prevail in Klagenfurt - we have the necessary quality to achieve that," says coach Manfred Schmid.
(c) GEPA
With Patrick Pentz (ÖFB national team), Vesel Demaku, Matthias Braunöder, Muharem Huskovic, Leonardo Ivkic (all ÖFB-U21), Eric Martel (DFB-U21), Filip Antovski (North Macedonia-U21), Ziad El Sheiwi (ÖFB-U18), no less than eight Austrian players from the professional squad have been with their national teams in the last week and a half.
"It is very pleasing that we have so many national players in our ranks. This is an award for the work of the entire team at Austria Wien and, of course, above all an accolade for each individual player himself," stressed Manfred Schmid, who added Young Violets Csaba Mester and Matteo Meisl to the rest of the squad and placed a physical emphasis on them:
"We know that we can put ourselves in a good position on Sunday." - Manfred Schmid
"We always use the international break to make another physical push forward. The training sessions in the small group were very intensive. We worked specifically on finishing and on our play in the final third," the Austria coach tells us.
Eight games are still to be played in the basic round, four of them before the winter break. Austria still plays Austria Klagenfurt (Sun., Nov. 21, 2:30 p.m., a), Sturm Graz (Sun., Nov. 28, 2:30 p.m., h), Rapid (Sun., Dec. 5, 5 p.m.) and LASK (Sun., Dec. 12, 5 p.m.) this year. The Violets are currently in eighth place, just two points off fourth:
"We know that we can create a good starting position for ourselves on Sunday. Klagenfurt has delivered top performances recently. I think they will be well organized defensively. On the offensive side, they have very fast players and are strong in the transition game," explains Schmid.
Manfred Schmid on the Salzburg game: "I've never received so much praise for a defeat."
(c) GEPA
The performance in the last Bundesliga match before the international break in the 0:1 against FC Red Bull Salzburg gave the young Austria team additional self-confidence:
"I have never received so much praise for a defeat. For us, coming to terms with it was relatively easy: based on the Salzburg game, we were able to show the boys what they are capable of, even though we haven't done many things the way we want to yet. Now it's up to us coaches and players to continue to improve. That is our goal," says Manfred Schmid.Personnel news
Marvin Martins is on his way back after his adductor problems and should fully join team training next week. Otherwise, there are no absences at the moment.