The Merkur Arena has long been sold out: 15,300 fans will be there today at the Grazer Derby in the round of 16 when Sturm and GAK meet in a competitive game for the first time since May 17, 2007. Back then, Sturm won 1-0 with a goal by Mario Haas. The GAK, which was deducted 28 points for license violations, was not given a license to play for the following season and had to start over in the lower house.
“We could have sold 30,000 tickets,” said GAK manager Matthias Dielacher, explaining how much the fans are looking forward to the duel. “Everyone is talking about this game,” added coach Gernot Messner. For him, the duel with the Bundesliga runners-up should be a glimpse of the future. “My players should absorb this atmosphere and work on being able to experience a similar atmosphere more often in a year or two,” said Messner, whose club is aiming to return to the top flight but is currently only ninth in the second division.
For GAK playmaker Michael Liendl, the cup derby is also a reason why things haven’t gone so well lately. “There has only been this one issue for weeks. We haven’t performed well in the league since the draw was out, so I’m not so unhappy when the issue is off the table again,” explained the 36-year-old.
“Hide the Surroundings”
The mood will be heated, so the requirement at Favorit Sturm is to keep a cool head. “It’s a game in which you have to hide everything around you,” said sports director Andreas Schicker. “If we bring our game, our intensity to the pitch, then I’m convinced that we’ll go one round.”
Source: Nachrichten
