This was SK Sturm’s seventh strike in the history of the ÖFB Cup. With the final whistle from referee Sebastian Gishamer, all dams broke. Cup winners again, winners against Rapid again, a celebration in the Wörthersee Stadium again, a rain of black and white confetti in Sturm’s second home again. And who knows how often the people of Graz will have to commute to Carinthia in the coming season. The Sturm fans celebrated their cup heroes and chanted “We will be champions” at the same time. Should Sturm really achieve the double, then the Wörthersee Stadium will become Sturm’s international home. That should already be clear.
It is also certain that Alexander Prass and Niklas Geyrhofer will probably undergo punishment training. Both threw beer over the head of coach Christian Ilzer. Later, Mika Biereth – or as the Dane has been called since yesterday – Mika Biereth also joined the “offenders”. He listened enthusiastically to managing director Andreas Schicker’s interview on ORF before placing his glass over Schicker. “Rapid has built everything towards the title, but we have the trophy in our hands,” said Schicker.
“Klauss is a sore loser”
Jusuf Gazibegovic was proud of his colleagues and said: “The fact that we came back shows our character and mental strength. It was a game full of emotions.” The heated battle took place not only on the field, but also in the coaching areas. Ilzer and Rapid coach Robert Klauß exceeded the limits of the argument. Boorish behavior is the most harmless description of what is required on the line. Schicker: “Klauss doesn’t behave like a fair sportsman and is a sore loser.”
Specifically, Schicker was referring to Klauss’ criticism of the winning goal. The German was annoyed by a foul by Biereth on Querfeld: “There are nine referees who decide for us on a foul and one who decides against us. We had it back today.” Ilzer saw it the other way around: “Nine out of ten referees decided there was no foul.”
“Great game in a great setting”
The Graz fans behaved almost well. This time there was no pyrotechnic and fireworks show in the stadium, but after the game, outside the arena, there were bangs for some time. Happy 115th birthday, SK Sturm. A cup victory makes celebrating a day even better. “It was another great game in front of a great crowd. It was a real battle game in the first half. During the break I saw in my boys’ faces that we wouldn’t let this title be taken away from us. We then showed this determination and brought more of a footballing style into this wild, energetic game. That’s why we were the better team. Sturm was the deserved winner today and throughout the entire season,” said Ilzer. That’s right, because Sturm had to overcome three tough obstacles on the way to the final from the round of 16 onwards with GAK, Austria Vienna and Salzburg. Rapid “only” had to eliminate three second division teams (Amstetten, St. Pölten, DSV Leoben).
Tomi Horvat was crowned the match winner. The Slovenian was overjoyed after the final whistle: “Securing the cup victory with my goal is a perfect feeling. At that moment, nothing was going through my head, I was just overjoyed. This title goes down in the history of the club.”
“We didn’t give Rapid a chance”
Horvat revealed that it got louder in the dressing room at halftime – but not from the coaching team, as one would expect. Rather, the leaders led the way and proactively woke up their colleagues. “During the break we all expressed our opinions to each other. Then we went out and gave Rapid no chance,” reported David Affengruber, who forced Querfeld’s unfortunate own goal to equalize with his header.
Coach Ilzer witnessed his players’ announcements and enjoyed this special motivational maneuver by his charges: “Inside, I stood there with a big grin.” The 46-year-old followed the tactical instructions.
2024-05-02 03:30:00
#trophy #hands
