Sturm coach was one of the first to congratulate the title

“The quality of a coach is to stick to things and fine-tune the nuances. Everything else is a pointless rowing back and forth in the great ocean of football.” Anyone who thought that Gerald Scheiblehner, coach of FC Blau-Weiss Linz, was already practicing slogans of perseverance before today’s difficult away game in the Bundesliga at Sturm Graz (5 p.m.) is wrong. Those words came before the duel of the promoted team in Austria’s runners-up, namely from the opposing coach Christian Ilzer.

The Sturm coach is aware that his team is the clear favorite today – but he still warns of Linz bottom: “There are no easy opponents in the Bundesliga. Blue and white have beaten their worth so far. There is a clear one The idea behind it, but they have to work their way into the Bundesliga first.”

While some fans of the Blue and Whites are already questioning Linz’s successful direction of play in recent years after only four Bundesliga games, Ilzer has a clear opinion on this: “After two weeks, you have to walk away from a plan that you communicated and from which one is convinced would be wrong.”

The 45-year-old can easily put himself in Scheiblehner’s position because he has already had similar experiences: “After his unlucky stint at Vienna Austria, he continued his style of play at Sturm. He got a new chance in Graz, and you sees that you can also survive phases of weakness if you trust in the path you have taken. The development of Sturm Graz in recent years is incredible. They have clear processes, are incredibly strong on the run, dynamic and robust. It will be really difficult to survive there “says Blau-Weiss coach Gerald Scheiblehner, who of course has far more in common with his current coaching opponent than a shared experience: Scheiblehner and Ilzer have known and appreciated each other for several years – they even took part in the ÖFB’s UEFA Pro License course together in 2020 .

Ilzer celebrated on Mallorca

“I appreciate his human qualities and have great respect for his achievements. I don’t think everyone had Blau-Weiss Linz as the number one candidate for promotion last season,” says Ilzer about Scheiblehner. The blue and white coach returns the hymns of praise: “We kept exchanging ideas before the course, then it got more intense. Christian became a friend.”

And you also celebrate special events with good friends – such as the promotion of the Blue and Whites to the Bundesliga. Ilzer was not only one of the first to congratulate – he was even present live at the subsequent blue and white party marathon in Mallorca because he happened to be on holiday with his wife at the same time after the season at Ballermann: “He has a championship title, so to speak, at least with us celebrated,” says Scheiblehner with a smile.

A reminder that can also give strength now: “You could tell my kickers were disappointed after the Rapid game. But these are exactly the games that we really wanted. We just have to be more stable defensively.” The next yardstick for this is already in Graz today.