SK Sturm Graz is not in an easy phase at the moment. The 0:3 home defeat against WAC marked the third defeat within a week.
Christian Ilzer and Mathias Berthold are challenged as Graz crisis managers. The head coach and mental coach saw a home 0:3 against WAC on Sunday and a Sturm team that has finally arrived at its first results crisis after an almost one-and-a-half-year high. The self-image and conviction in their own power football of the first rounds have disappeared ahead of the European Cup adventure against a “supergiant”.
Ahead of their guest game at Spanish top club Real Sociedad on Thursday (6.45pm), Sturm have lost six of their last seven games. A “reflection of the current situation”, Ilzer saw on Sunday, “in which nothing comes easily for us”. A lot of things are coming together at the moment. “It’s a spiral downwards that we have to break. One thing that happens a lot in the head. When I look at my players’ faces, I don’t see determination, I see hesitation. “
Performers are running behind top form
symbol bearers for this currently abound in Graz. The first to come to mind – if only because of his own goal for the 0:2 – is defender Dante, who has been running out of form for weeks. Or goal scorer Kelvin Yeboah, who has now gone seven games without a goal and almost only wants to get through dense defensive walls with his head. Or Anderson Niangbo, who was signed as a striker replacement and is suddenly supposed to replace playmaker Otar Kiteishvili. Or goalkeeper Jörg Siebenhandl, who, after months as a constant, recently made a few mistakes and thus unsettled the entire defence.
On Thursday, a club that has only lost once in Spain and is top of the table awaits them in the Basque Country. On Sunday, the Blue and Whites squandered a lead in the derby against Athletic Bilbao with one man more and only managed a 1-1 draw, but coach Imanol Alguacil’s side are still one point ahead of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga.
Ilzer is hoping for some sort of act of defiance from his players – and formulated the mantra straight away: “I’m going to rebel against this supergiant and show that there’s something completely different inside.” They want to board the plane with confidence, the Sturm coach said. “I don’t expect perfection. But I want to see how we react in difficult phases. That’s when I can see very clearly who is an absolute winner and ready for big games.” Ilzer tried to exemplify the now necessary (purpose) optimism right away on Sunday evening. “We’re coming out of it. Being tough on ourselves is in our mission statement.”
His team did not really play badly against the WAC, was even exceedingly dominant in most phases. 19:2 shots on goal, 10:1 corners, but 0:3 in goals scored the statistics read. “In the end, it depends on how you shoot,” Siebenhandl corrected. The goalkeeper from Graz diagnosed a “self-inhibiting” team on Sky. As second in the table, they are still in a good position. “It’s only up to us to march forward now, to be greedy and not give the opponent any chances.” Gregory Wüthrich emphasised: “We just need a sense of achievement, so that our self-confidence comes back. “
WAC close in on Sturm
At least no chances were needed for the approaching WAC on Sunday. “I know that the statistics speak for Graz in all areas, but we were just very effective. Our cohesion and self-confidence also helped,” said Robin Dutt. The 3-0 win was the fifth in a row for the Carinthians, who are only two points behind Sturm. On that, Michael Liendl, the scorer of the eye-catching 1-0, said: “We’re reaching for the stars, for sure.”
After teething problems, Dutt’s signature – a more controlled style of play compared to previous years – is becoming increasingly clear. “I have always tried to radiate calm and develop a clear game idea. That is emphasised in every training session.” The experienced German has settled in Carinthia. “The quality of life in Wolfsberg is bombastic, I’ve only experienced that to some extent in Freiburg. “
