Austria’s soccer runners-up SK Sturm has an excellent starting position for today’s group final (6.45 p.m., ServusTV) in the Europa League. After a last-minute 1-0 win over Feyenoord Rotterdam, the ‘Blackies’ in Herning against Denmark’s FC Midtjylland, whom they defeated 1-0 at home, need only a draw to advance through the knockout phase to reach. “If you hibernate, then you’ll be someone in Europe again. That would be a huge thing,” said sports director Andreas Schicker, whose team has already brought in more than 1.7 million euros in UEFA points bonuses.
If the Grazers fix first place, they would collect 2.3 million euros for a direct entry into the round of 16. Second place guarantees 1.2 million and a jump into the round of 32. But it’s not that far yet: Even being eliminated in fourth place or moving to the Europa Conference League in third place are conceivable in this extremely balanced “pool”. “I’m not a computer,” admits Sturm Graz coach Christian Ilzer. Postscript: “I hope that we will play so well that nobody has to calculate.”
The 45-year-old from Styria does not want to deal with the worst-case scenario. If Sturm loses in Herning and Feyenoord wins at home against Lazio, the “Schwoazen” would slip to the bottom of the table.
The current performance curve speaks more for a sense of achievement. Graz have been unbeaten since September 15, the day of the 6-0 debacle at Feyenoord. In the past six weeks there have been seven wins and three draws.
SK Sturm doesn’t want to risk the necessary draw. “We always play to win, that’s in our DNA,” emphasized captain Stefan Hierländer.
Midtjylland has had emotional roller coasters. The club is only eighth in the championship after the recent 2-1 defeat against Odense, but their home performances in the Europa League have been very convincing. The Danes defeated Lazio 5-1 in the 11,809-seat MCH Arena and drew 2-2 against Feyenoord. Incidentally, the most valuable players in the ensemble are right winger Anders Dreyer (market value 8 million euros) and central midfielder Evander from Brazil (7 million).
Source: Nachrichten
