Gladiators coach: “We want to offer the fans an attractive football sport again”

“The preparation is going really well at the moment. We are right on schedule and are working hard on our form for the coming season,” says Raffael Gruber, head coach of the Monobunt Gladiators Ried. The footballers recently trained on the artificial turf field in the Klaus Roitinger Stadium in heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures in the evening. In preparation for the 2024 season, which starts on April 6th with the home game against the Upper Syrian Rhinos, the Gladiators don’t want to leave anything to chance.

The 2023 season in Division 2 was anything but good for the Rieders; the threat of relegation was a constant companion from the start of the season. Curious: Due to scheduling difficulties, the situation arose where a coin toss by the association had to decide the game date for a relegation game. The Gladiators’ opponent was unable to play on the “drawn” game date due to personnel reasons. “I hope the association learns from this case and there will be a fixed date for relegation in the future,” says Gruber.

So the Rieders are playing in Division 2 again this year. “2023 was really an epidemic year for us with a high of 22 people injured at the same time. But that shouldn’t be an excuse for the fact that we didn’t find any means to be successful in terms of play.” says head coach Gruber. The past season was analyzed very critically. There were also changes in the coaching team. “We wanted to create new impulses that we can now feel during training,” says Gruber.

A prominent reinforcement was brought in for the defense in Valentin Leutgeb. Leutgeb was under contract with the Vienna Vikings, who played in Europe’s top league in 2023.

“He brings a lot of experience at the highest level. We are very happy that we were able to persuade him to come back to us,” says the Gladiators’ head coach and adds: “We had a few departures, but we have that several promising new additions to our ranks.” During the semester break, the Gladiators complete a training camp lasting several days, during which they will meticulously work on the many moves. When asked what goals they have for the 2024 season in Division 2, Gruber answers: “We don’t want to have anything to do with relegation and just play a stable season. The young players should develop well, I believe that “We are on a very good path here. We want to offer the spectators an attractive football sport, and of course we will again provide the fans and families with real events at the home games,” says Gruber.

Big Superbowl party on February 11th

The Superbowl, the final game of the American NFL (National Football League), will take place on Sunday, February 11th. It is one of the biggest sporting events in the world. The Gladiators Ried and the UVC Ried are hosting a big Superbowl party, including a large buffet, in the Volleydome on February 11th from 8 p.m. Advance sales end this Monday. Tickets and information are available online at uvc-tickets.at

info By clicking on the icon you can add the keyword to your topics.

info
By clicking on the icon you open your “my topics” page. They have of 15 keywords saved and would have to remove keywords.

info By clicking on the icon you can remove the keyword from your topics.

Add the topic to your topics.