From a sporting point of view, today’s end of the group phase in the Europa Conference League is a free game for LASK: The athletes will be the group winners before the duel with HJK Helsinki in Klagenfurt (6.45 p.m., ORF 1). A motivational injection is the victory bonus: 500,000 euros are worth three points, according to reports, the club pays out around half of that to the players.
“Every European Cup game is a highlight for LASK,” said coach Andreas Wieland. “It’s all the better that we can go into the game as group winners.” In the tenth game of the Europa Conference League including qualification, LASK should remain unbeaten. “We want to bring the international football year to a good end.”
The third division of the European Cup was good business for LASK. Only champions Salzburg, who received 15.64 million euros just for competing in the Champions League, received more from Austria’s European Cup starters. With the starting fee, bonuses for the 13 points so far and the bonus for being promoted to group winners, the athletes have brought in 5.756 million euros – that’s more than Rapid and Sturm Graz earned in the more highly endowed Europa League. The Viennese are currently at 4.26 million euros, Sturm Graz at 3.84 million euros.
The many points paid off for the LASK. The group opponents weren’t nearly as strong – but whether Rapid and Sturm would have scored as many points one class lower? Thanks to the European Cup successes of the past few years, LASK had a head start: The athletes were drawn from the first pot and were assigned three nominally weaker opponents. Rapid would have been in the second pot in the Europa Conference League, Sturm only in the fourth.
Opponent comes cold to Carinthia
HJK Helsinki was drawn to LASK from Pot 3. The Finns come “cold” to Klagenfurt: On October 31, the record champions fixed their 31st title, since then only the two European Cup games against Maccabi Tel Aviv (0: 3) and Alashkert (1: 0) have been contested. While the third party in the group goes on holiday with the final whistle, things will get serious again for LASK on Sunday: Opponents Austria Wien are four points ahead in sixth place.
Source: Nachrichten
