“It’s obvious that the level has fallen compared to previous years. The dominant teams like Sturm and Salzburg have lost quality, and that’s noticeable,” said ORF expert Roman Mählich and also attributes this to financial parameters. “It will be more difficult to compete in the market.”
As far as the European Cup form is concerned – Rapid is in last place in the Conference League behind clubs from Malta and Iceland – Mählich analyzed dryly: “The last few years have been above-average successful for a country like Austria. We couldn’t maintain that in the long term, even if we may have lost too much ground now.” The former team player isn’t worried. “It’s a normal development, we were top for years, now the clubs will develop new strategies,” said Mählich with a view to 2026.
Mählich: “It’s obvious that the level has fallen”
With just 32 points from 17 games, Salzburg “dragged” to the worst winter league in the domestic Bundesliga in 20 years. In addition to Salzburg, champions Sturm Graz and the two Viennese clubs Rapid and Austria are also weak. ORF expert Roman Mählich on the state of the league.
Worst winter king in 20 years
In the year of the World Cup, Austria’s national team is making its comeback on the biggest football stage in the world, while the local clubs have a lot to work through. “Now we’re all looking forward to the break,” said Salzburg captain Mads Bidstrup. 32 points after 17 rounds is the worst result for a championship leader since the 2005/06 season. Sturm recorded 36 points last year as winter king (16 rounds).
According to the ORF sports archive, of the countries that are ahead of Austria in the five-year ranking, only the Polish first Wisla Plock (1.67) has a worse points average than Salzburg (1.88). The league emphasized in a release: “The clubs have never been as close together as they have been this season. There are just eight points between first and eighth place after 17 rounds – fewer than ever before.”
Salzburg assistant coach Kai Hesse, who, as in the European Cup, represented his sick boss Thomas Letsch, sees the situation as differentiated. “The league is highly competitive, very challenging and balanced. It’s not all good. But we’ve done a lot of things well,” said the German, who could soon have a sports director.
League leaders with historically low points
Red Bull Salzburg leads the Bundesliga at the winter break. The 32 points from 17 games are the lowest points for a league leader in 20 years.
Because in the sporting executive suite, Salzburg also wants to get things done in the coming weeks. According to reports, the German Marcus Mann – currently working for the second division club Hannover 96 – is to come as sports director. The 41-year-old should sign a contract until 2029, and Salzburg would have to pay a rumored transfer fee in the region of five million euros for him.
New coaches at Sturm and Austria?
There could also be a change in an even more prominent position at master Sturm Graz. Coach Jürgen Säumel is up for debate after the “Blackies” only won three times in their last 13 competitive games, including the success in the penalty shootout in the cup round of 16 against second division team Admira Wacker. Curious: As champions, Graz are the worst home team together with bottom team BW Linz.
“I don’t know exactly what happened in the last two months,” said Sturm goalkeeper Oliver Christensen after his last game in a Sturm uniform. “In the end the quality wasn’t good enough,” said the Dane. The gaps following the summer departures of Gregory Wüthrich, Malick Yalcouye, Kjell Scherpen, William Böving and Max Johnston could not be adequately closed. Sports director Michael Parensen is therefore not said to be very popular with Säumel.
Mählich cannot understand the excitement in Graz, “especially since they became champions twice. Yes, they haven’t scored that many points and have a catastrophic home record, but I wouldn’t panic.” But it didn’t go unnoticed by him either: “Apparently the relationship between the sports director and the coach is bad.” Whether Säumel wins or loses the power struggle remains to be seen.
The same applies to Austria, where the name of St. Pölten coach Cem Sekerlioglu has been circulating through the rumor mill for some time. “We’re going through the season. Conversations in the next few days will show which direction things are going,” said Austria’s sports director Michael Wagner and was cryptic about the future of coach Stephan Helm. He said after the 3-1 win against Sturm: “Such a performance wouldn’t be possible if it didn’t fit.” Mählich also said regarding the Helm coaching question: “I don’t know if another coach would do it better.”
Crashed rapidly in the fall
That leaves Rapid, which was still at the top of the table after eight rounds with then coach Peter Stöger and is now even outside the top six over the winter. “It’s extraordinary how things have turned around. I can’t identify one big reason,” said Mählich. “But unfortunately it is the way it has been for a long time.”
As great as the hope was after the strong start to the season, the green-white situation before the winter break is all the more precarious. The former league leaders Rapid have been waiting for a win for eight competitive games. For the first time since the 2016/17 season, the green and white supporters, who made their displeasure clear after the final whistle in Linz, were not able to celebrate a victory for eight competitive games.
It is questionable whether interim coach Stefan Kulovits (“It’s just a lazy person”) will remain in office. Stöger’s former assistant coach sees the problem in exploiting opportunities and hopes to stay. “The team has shown a good performance in the last two games. You can see the progress, everything else is out of my hands.” He also has supporters in Louis Schaub (“You can see that he has achieved a lot”) and Nenad Cvetkovic (“He is a real Rapidler, he can convey that to the players”).
Statistics for the fall season from the ORF sports archive
- Longest winning streak: LASK (6)
- Longest streak of unbeaten games: LASK (9)
- Longest losing streak: BW Linz (7)
- Longest winless streak: GAK (11)
- Most goals from set pieces: Ried (12 of 23)
- Most goals from corners: Austria Vienna (5)
- Most goals conceded by set pieces: BW Linz (9)
- Most goals conceded from corners: Altach (5)
- Most goals in the final quarter of an hour: Salzburg (8)
- Fewest goals in the final quarter of an hour: Rapid (2)
- Most goals in overtime: LASK and GAK (4 each)
- Most goals conceded in the final quarter of an hour: Hartberg (12)
- Most goals conceded in overtime: Hartberg (6)
- Most goals from long shots: Salzburg, Sturm, Tirol, Altach (4 each)
- Most goals conceded from long range shots: Wolfsberg (6)
- Most headed goals: LASK (7)
- Most goals conceded with a header: Hartberg (7)
- Most penalties converted: Tyrol (5)
- Most unconverted penalties: Rapid (3)
- Most penalties against themselves: LASK (6)
- Tyrol got the most points after falling behind: 10
- Sturm lost the most points after leading: 16
- Hartberg and Austria with 13 different goalscorers
- Salzburg with 16 different assist providers
