Goal promotion: SV Ried is ready for the second attempt

On Friday evening, SV Guntamatic Ried welcomes the second team from Sturm Graz in the third-to-last round of the second league. Ried will be in Lafnitz on Whit Monday before the season ends with the home game against Dornbirn on Saturday, May 25th. Preparations for the coming season, which starts at the beginning of August, are already in full swing. In the summer of 2023, SV-Ried announced a “two-year plan” for promotion back to the Bundesliga. We have analyzed the current season and look ahead to the 2024/2025 season.

Current season: It can be assumed that SV Ried will end the season in second place after being relegated from the Bundesliga. They also have by far the best goal difference in the league. However, Maximilian Senft’s team weakened in the games against the top teams. The Rieders only got five points from a total of eight games against their immediate “table neighbors” (GAK, Leoben, FAC, Admira). That’s not enough to get promoted, so it doesn’t help that they won no fewer than five games 5-0.

Squad: In principle, a large part of the squad should be ready for the coming season. Almost all regular players have ongoing contracts. Players like Arjan Malic (Contract until 2027) or Fabian Wohlmuth (until 2025) have certainly caught the attention of other clubs. However, a sale would bring a lot of money into the club’s coffers. Jonas Wendlinger, David Ungar and Sandro Schendl are leaving the club. Captain Marcel Ziegl is ending his career, but he should remain with SV Ried in another role. Ziegl, like long-time goalie coach Hubert Auer, will be farewelled at the last home game against Dornbirn. The whereabouts of Junior Diomande and Philipp Pomer, whose contract is expiring, are uncertain. Here Fiala is pushing for a quick decision from the player, by next week at the latest. Left-back Lumor and central midfielder Nils Seufert have not yet been able to meet expectations. Both still have a contract, but the duo’s whereabouts are unlikely to be set in stone. Sports director Wolfgang Fiala has long been looking for reinforcements in the summer. It can be assumed that a central, robust midfielder and a big penalty area player will be brought in for the attack. If Pomer does not extend the contract, the search for a player for the left wing will be intensified. Someone will probably also be hired for central defense.

Budget: “The contribution of our great sponsors will not be less in the coming season, in fact it will be more, and we are positively surprised about that. This shows that the two-year plan is also supported by the sponsors,” says SV Ried Vice President Robert Tremel . Money for the professional squad for the coming season was essentially already budgeted in the summer of 2023. “We made a profit of around one million euros in the year before we were relegated from the Bundesliga. So there is a certain amount for one or two transfers,” says Tremel in an interview with OÖN. If the targeted promotion does not succeed, the professional business in Ried is not in danger. However, the budget would then most likely be reduced.

Competition: Relegated Austria Lustenau has already declared war on the competition and stated direct promotion as the goal. A look at the spring table shows that the traditional club Admira Wacker is also a force to be reckoned with. The Lower Austrians have won eight of their last twelve games and are tied for first place in the spring table with Liefering (twelve games). Vienna and St. Pölten should also be on the list, although the future of St. Pölten – keyword investor – is still open.

Fans: Ried, that’s for sure, will be the club next season that will have by far the biggest home advantage because of its fans – both in terms of the number of spectators and the atmosphere in the stadium.