[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

No thanks.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

January/May 26/27

 

What to say, how is this even possible? Quite a feat I must say. That it would also be decided in the last three matches makes everything that much more crazy. We are doing very well as we advance to the championship group and with only three games remaining, we have Rapid Wien, Salzburg and Sturm Graz to face. Rapid is third, we are second and Salzburg is first, four points ahead of us. We were badly out against Rapid but won after a goal in the 94th minute, vital goal it would turn out. Salzburg were still four points ahead going into our game, a game that would prove to be a goal feast. Loncar and Negrucci made sure we were 2-0 up after 71 minutes. All of a sudden we lose everything, Renato Sanches and Mads Bidstrup have four minutes of pure magic and suddenly it was 2-2. The clock approaches the 95th minute, Ludewig takes care of a free kick from half-field, he sees that Tijani has run away from his defender, the ball lands perfectly at his feet, he looks up and sees Sejk running into the penalty area. 3-2 and the hysteria is total.

Before the last round, we are only one point behind RB Salzburg, who will face Rapid Wien. We face rivals Sturm Graz. In terms of resistance, it should be us who have the advantage. But at the same time we have to hope that Rapid Wien plays a great match against Salzburg. Our first keeper Bernat is injured before but we choose to play him anyway, a risk I was willing to take. We take the lead against Sturm Graz after Mester scores his 14th league goal of the season, here and now we are league winners. Reports then state that Salzburg have surprisingly conceded a goal, they are at a disadvantage and we now have a great chance for the league title. The nerves now started to show, Sturm Graz started to press and hit a lot of balls into the penalty area and finally they equalized with a header in the 54th minute. Panic breaks out, are we going to lose it all? No, we won't. The 67th minute has arrived, we have a throw-in, Ludewig and Loncar play around until Loncar finds Tijani, he brings the ball into the penalty area a la Robben and then fires a placed shot at the far post, it goes in and the joy is total. We can then keep away and at the same time it turns out that even Rapid Wien can do it. WE WIN THE LEAGUE AND SALZBURG ****S IT UP.

 

If you had asked me before the season who would be our best goalscorer, I would without a doubt have answered Vaclav Sejk. Now it turns out that Csaba Mester is having the season of his life and ends the season with 18 goals, he also makes 5 assists so we shouldn't complain. We brought in Lovre Loncar as a challenger for Tiba on loan, a choice that turned out to be absolutely phenomenal. 11 goals and 14 assists are no joke. He then has the highest average rating in the team, talk about a good season. It would be magical if we managed to sign him for next season, but I think it could be very difficult

 

Most goals: Csaba Mester :: 18 goals
Most assists: Lovre Loncar :: 14 assists
Best average rating: Lovre Loncar :: 7.14 av rat

 

 

This is the first season that we bring in many players with talent and this year the biggest talent is called Burak Tosun. He is already not far from being promoted to the first team, maybe he will be promoted next season and then loaned out? It is not an impossibility.

 

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

Transfer window Winter 26/27

 

In this window we didn't sell players at all, instead we loaned players right and left. Some of them were own products, some of them were new players in the club. Two players from the first team went out on loan, both complained about playing time. Tom Louchet, who we signed before the season, moved to his home country and is doing half a season with US Orleans. Icelandic winger Gudnason is loaned to Roda JC. Charles, Aminu and Kopyt were loaned out for playing time before getting their chance in the first team here.

Transfer In
 dc :: Nasiru Aminu :: 18 years :: Wattenscheid :: Free
 dm :: Nickenson Charles :: 18 years :: FC Den Bosch :: Free
 dr :: Ivan Galovic :: 18 years :: Medimurje :: Free
 gk :: Tomasz Kopyt :: 18 years :: Polonia Warszawa :: 3.4k euro
 dr :: Artem Galimov :: 18 years :: Palmelense :: Free
 mc :: Marcel Jacobs :: 18 years :: OJC Rosmalen :: Free

Transfer Out
 +7 out on loan

In this window you can easily say that a lot of talent has been brought in for development, maybe some can break through and become future stars, maybe we can sell on with big profits, who knows? The only one who has more than two stars in current ability is Ivan Galovic and he is probably the closest to a place in the first team. Some of the players have been loaned out directly for playing time.

Screens - Players In

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

July/December 26/27

 

Now we can start talking! What a start we have had in the series, we have reached the end of December and we are only one point behind RB Salzburg itself. Eleven wins already and only two losses, one of them was against Salzburg of course, but still, we can't help but be satisfied. Only Rapid Wien have scored more goals than us so far so our offense has really blossomed this season. The defense has also been very good, sixteen conceded which is third best behind the surprise team TSV Hartberg and of course Salzburg. A bit cool, I must admit that Hartberg are doing so well, they have actually just been promoted so they are having a hell of a season so far.

 

We had to start our European journey by going directly into the playoffs and there we had to face Young Boys. We started with a win at home with 4-3 and I was a little worried before the second leg, it would turn out that I shouldn't have been. We completely beat them away with 4-1, a total of 8-4. This meant that we were now ready for the league play in EL! So far it's been pretty good, 14th place where we've won two, drawn three games and only lost one game. We won against Lazio and Lech. Servette, Marseille and Steaua Bucharest were the teams we drew against and, somewhat surprisingly, AEK Athens was the team we lost against. Now there are two games left, a difficult away game against A. Madrid and finally a home game against Ferencvaros.

 

Most goals: Csaba Mester :: 10 goals
Most assists: Lovre Loncar :: 7 assists
Best average rating: Lovre Loncar :: 7.27 av rat

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

The Squad for 2026/27

 

Goalkeepers:  Toni Silic (22),  Hans Christian Bernat (25),  Marvin Wieser (22)
- One player out and one player in. Strebinger packed his bags and flew over to Saudi and then we only had two goalkeepers. I then felt that we were thin in this position so therefore Silic was loaned. Silic and Wieser will certainly share a bench spot, so we'll see who is the strongest. Bernat took his chance last year and was very good, now he is given between the posts and considering that he is only 25 years old, we can have a long future together.

Right backs:  Kilian Ludewig (26),  Maximilian Hofer (21)
- Kilian Ludewig joined last year to replace Lyngbo and he did it with flying colors, he was actually our best player in terms of average rating, so if there is one position we are strong in, it is right back. Behind him we have Hofer, who is seen as a good replacement when needed. He has made 6 u21 internationals, so it shows that there is some kind of quality in him.

Center backs:  Willy Kambwala (22),  Oliver N'Zi (25),  Niklas Szerencsi (25),  Ludovicus Schumacher (18)
- Not much has happened in this position as I feel very satisfied at the moment. Kambwala has already reached 60 games in the first team and is very popular. Next to him, however, it is a little more even, N'Zi should probably still be considered a little closer to the second starting place compared to Szerencsi. The two will both get playing time and both can play in other positions so I'm not worried. Schumacher is there to watch and learn, maybe also get some playing time in case of injuries. He is described as a centre-back but can still do well at right-back, where he gets the most playing time the future will decide.

Left backs:  Simon Pirkl (29),  Thomas Kofler (28)
- Pirkl has been a starter in this position since he joined, last year he started to consider himself too big for the club but happily he has changed his mind. It is a good player but his age is approaching +30 which worries a bit, maybe he has 1-2 seasons left before he is replaced. Kofler had difficulty with playing time in Wolfsberger and was loaned out to Perth Glory in Australia last year. He was also on an expiring contract, so our sporting director thought we should take him over to have him as a reserve.

Defensive and central midfielders:  Negrucci (22),  Samson Tijani (24),  Sandry (24),  Tom Louchet (32),  Matthias Puschl (30),  Meletios Miskovic (27),  Richard Ledezma (25)
- It is a position that is very wide and has many good players, the reason for this is that again we have changed the tactics a bit and now play with three central midfielders. Tijani is the obvious choice in a starting eleven, a player who never underperforms and best of all, he can still get better! Next to him, Sandry and Puschl will start, but as I mentioned, we have a lot of width and if someone underperforms, I will not hesitate to rotate and let others have the chance. All to simply win.

Wingers:  Tiba (25),  Lovre Loncar (20),  Lenny Pintor (26),  Albin Gashi (29),  Manuel Polster (23),  Björn Bogi Gudnason (22)
- Here, too, we sit at a good width, so in the event of injuries, I am not terribly worried. I consider Polster to be our biggest player among the wingers, a player we can lean on. Tiba has been far too given for a long time and I wanted to bring in more players who could compete so when the sporting director brings in Pintor who can play on both sides we finally have a contender. But I chose to also bring in Loncar to give some width in case injuries should strike.

Strikers:  Csaba Mester (24),  Vaclav Sejk (24),  Thomas Zenden (18),  Diogo Amaro (18)
- Finally we can play with our own strikers who are not just on loan. We bring in Sejk as our starting striker. He has experience from playing at both Sparta Prague and loan at Dutch Roda JC so he is not inexperienced by any means. We will see Mester as second choice and behind him we have two new 18-year-olds that we picked on amateur contracts that we hope will develop, maybe one of them can become a future star?

 

Bernat
Ludewig - Kambwala - N'Zi - Pirkl
Tijani - Puschl - Sandry
Tiba ----------------- Polster
Sejk

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

Transfer window Summer 2026/27

 

The team needed to be improved and in order to make room for new players, we have to sell others. For the most part, we have sold players that I consider to have been a bit too old, above all there were no starting players so I didn't see much use in them. We sell Strebinger to Saudi Arabia, he stayed an extra season but now gets to end his career with a good paycheck, simply a win for both of us. Midfielders Gucher and Grabher have a lot of experience but unfortunately I felt their time was up. One went to Saudi and one to Italy for a last paycheck. I would have liked to have kept Asgar at the club, however, he was on an expiring contract and without warning WSG Tirol had come and lured him over. This will now be the second player that Tirol steals from us. Otherwise, a total of 10 players have left on loan. For the most part, it's about loans for talents that I want to give playing time and development. Others have complained about playing time, something I can't promise with us at the moment. Florian Haxha is one of these, he will play his football in Linz this season.

Transfer in
 dl :: Thomas Kofler :: 28 years :: Wolfsberger AC :: Free
 aml :: Lenny Pintor :: 26 years :: Linz :: Free
 dc :: Ludovicus Schumacher :: 18 years :: KHO Wolvertem Merchtem :: Free
 st :: Václav Sejk :: 24 years :: Free Transfer
 mc :: Sandry :: 24 years :: Free Transfer
 mc :: Tom Louchet :: 23 years :: Free Transfer
 dm :: Negrucci :: 22 years ;; São Paulo FC :: Free
 gk :: Toni Silic :: 22 years :: Hajduk :: Loan
 amr :: Lovre Loncar :: 20 years :: Hajduk :: Loan
 st :: Thomas Zenden :: 18 years :: Roda JC Kerkrade :: Free Transfer
 st :: Diogo Amaro :: 18 years :: Amarante :: Free Transfer

Transfer out
 gk :: Richard Strebinger :: 33 years :: Al-Khaleej :: 160k euro
 mc :: Pius Grabher :: 33 years :: Al-Riyadh :: 31.5k euro
 dm :: Robert Gucher :: 35 years :: Pescara :: Free
 aml :: Asger Stengaard :: 20 years :: WSG Tirol :: Free
  +10 out on loan

Kapfenberger has been responsible for a small renovation, out with the old, in with the new. We sold Strebinger and now we had 2 goalkeepers left, I was a bit worried that we would be very weak if injuries happened. That's why we chose to borrow Toni Silic from Hajduk to get some width. In the back line, two players were brought in. The left-back Kofler picked our sports director on an expiring contract and the talent Schumacher I found sitting on an amateur contract, he has managed to make international matches at U19 level for his Belgium. Centrally in midfield, three players were brought in and I am very happy with the players I have found. Two Brazilians in the form of Sandry and Negrucci, one with a past in Santos and the other in Sao Paulo. Tom Louchet was chased by many clubs but he chose the safety of Austria over bigger names, let's hope the choice was right. Lenny Pintor was yet another player that our sporting director chose to pick up on an expiring contract, hopefully he can be successful on his side so that we don't have to pick up players on loan there. On the other side, Tiba has dominated but behind him we haven't really had anyone who has shown the front feet, we now hope that the loan Loncar will do that. He is also on loan from Hajduk. Finally, we needed to strengthen our attack and three players were brought in. Sejk is our obvious choice for a starting place, the other two 18-year-olds are talents to develop, we'll see how much playing time they get during this season, maybe a loan awaits in the future?

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

January/May 25/26

 

After half the season had been played, we were in a stable fourth place, my goal was to reach the top three. We played up during the spring and reached third place when 22 rounds were played and the league is broken into different series. There and then we were a full 19 points behind RB Salzburg in first place and 11 points behind second-placed Rapid Wien. We go into the Championship group and do better than last season, but I don't think it looked good enough for me to be completely satisfied. But in the end we finish third and nobody could be happier than me. We are going out to Europe again and fight.

 

I can't really be happy when our top scorer is called Puschl and is basically a central midfielder. Admittedly, he can also handle an attacking role and has also made a couple of appearances as a striker during the season, but of course I would have liked someone other than him to have scored more goals. Maybe instead we just have to pay tribute to him for the season he has had. Brazilian winger Tiba made 10 assists this season and we shouldn't wave that away, despite the fact that he is having his worst season during our time at the club. The best player in terms of average rating was Lyngbo's replacement, Kilian Ludewig, who we picked up for free from RB Salzburg when he was on an expiring contract. Very nice to know that we did not stand and fall when we lost last year's star, but that we could instead replace him with a player at least as good.

 

Most goals: Matthias Puschl :: 12 goals
Most assists: Tiba :: 10 assists
Best average rating: Kilian Ludewig :: 6.93 av rat

 

 

The talents that were brought in are reasonably good players, no outright super talents but there is clearly room for development. Given that we already have two players from previous intakes in the first team, perhaps one of these can appear in the near future. The most interesting of the bunch I must say is Feidel, according to reports he is not far from Rijssel already now so a little more development on him and they can surely become something.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

Transfer window Winter 25/26

 

There were some transfers out, one player left permanently while four players left on loan. The player sold was midfielder Nemanja Carevic. He was on an expiring contract and complained that he didn't get to play as much as he would have liked. Austria Wien sign him for 130k euros and we thank them for that deal. Winger Koné and centre-back Dosso left on loan. Koné goes down a division for games in Stripfing and Dosso goes to his native France and games in Laval MFC in Ligue 2. The other two players who left on loan are not worth mentioning.

Transfer In
 aml :: Manuel Polster :: 23 years :: Free Transfer
 amc :: Richard Ledezma :: 25 years :: Free Transfer
 mc :: Bryan Caron :: 17 years :: Boourg en B. :: Free

Transfer Out
 mc :: Nemanja Carevic :: 21 years :: Austria Wien :: 130k euro
 amr :: Mohamed Koné :: 22 years :: SV Stripfing :: Loan 
 dc :: Adama Dosso :: 20 years :: Laval MFC :: Loan
 +2 out on loan

After bringing in a little more money for the club by playing in Europe, I went to the management to increase both the transfer budget and the salary budget. This resulted in me being able to sign two very good players. Polster did not have a good time previously at Austria Wien and had been without a club during the course of the season, a speedy winger with plenty of U21 caps for Austria. If we just get him to perform reasonably well, we have a future star here. When we changed tactics and now play with AMC, I wanted to get a player in there, Ledezma appeared earlier in the reports and when I realized that I could sign him, I jumped straight away. He never really blossomed in PSV, maybe he has now found a club to blossom in? The last player in is a French young talent I found from a club that was interested in loaning Dosso. Caron will start in our U18 team, the future will then decide what will become of him.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

July/December 25/26

 

In league play it has been very mixed with results in my opinion, the biggest reason for that I would say is Europa League play. Nevertheless, we have scraped together enough points to be in fourth place, which I find absolutely sick. Since the game has been so incredibly mixed, we have tried to try some other tactics to succeed in finding something that fits, it has been quite a journey but we have landed in 4231 with two DMs. Right now there are two teams that are a bit better than the rest of us, RB Salzburg are of course awesome but Rapid Wien have also been very good, 8 points behind RB but a full 10 points ahead of third place Sturm Graz.

 

It's been a lovely journey, you can't deny that. We entered the qualifiers and faced Slavia Prague. We started at home and won 2-1, we then expected a much more difficult away game but we made history short, 3-0 win and we went through to the next round. Lucerne was the next opponent and here it was going to be exciting, the first match we won 2-0, the second meeting ended 0-2 and the match was taken to extra time, no goals were scored there and penalties awaited. We put all ours while they miss one, we advance and now we are one round out of league play! The lot fell on Aberdeen and after the first meeting a win was required, because the first meeting ended 1-1. We do everything we can and it will be a match with tennis numbers, the match ends 5-3 and thus were ready for league play in EL!

Once in the group stage, it's really mixed and matched, six games played so far where we've lost three, drawn two and won one. BK Häcken (Sweden), West Ham (England) and Steaua Bucharest (Romania) have been too difficult for us. Atalanta (Italy) and Bilbao (Spain) we played to a draw and the win was against APOEL (Cyprus). We have two games left to play in the league and Porto and Lille are waiting for us.

 

Most goals: Matthias Puschl :: 10 goals
Most assists: Tiba :: 9 assists
Best average rating: Albin Gashi :: 6.96 av rat

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

The Squad for 2025/26

 

Goalkeepers:  Richard Strebinger (32),  Hans Christian Bernat (24),  Marvin Wieser (21)
- As I mentioned earlier, Strebinger was supposed to leave (something he wanted for a very long time) before a new contract was signed by the sporting director just days before it expired. The idea was then that Bernat would be our first choice and Wieser would keep his place on the bench, now instead we will see which of Bernat and Strebinger will get to stand between the posts. Wieser simply has to settle for third choice for the time being.

Right backs:  Kilian Ludewig (25),  Florian Haxha (23),  Maximilian Hofer (20)
- Last year we had the league's best player here, now Ludewig will come in and replace and I think we have found a very good replacement. Behind him we have Haxha and Hofer. Haxha can play in many different positions, previously it has been in offensive positions, now he has stepped down on the field. Hofer is his own product and is still very interesting, actually made his debut for Austria's U21 national team last season.

Center backs:  Willy Kambwala (21),  Oliver N'Zi (24),  Niklas Szerencsi (25),  Adama Dosso (20)
- We have young centre-backs, the oldest in the position is like 25 years young. Former United talent Kambwala had difficulty with playing time at first last year but is now seen as our most gifted player, next to him we have N'Zi but it must be said that we have good competition in this position so you are not completely safe. In addition, several of the players can play in different positions, so everyone will probably get some playing time.

Left backs:  Simon Pirkl (28),  Didi Naarendorp (21)
- Before the season we only had one player in this position in the form of Pirkl. Admittedly, both N'Zi and Kambwala can play left-back, but I prefer them as centre-backs. Pirkl is a very good player, but he didn't have much to compete with, so the loan was made by Didi Naarendorp. Given that we are going to qualify for Europe, there will possibly be a lot of matches, therefore I felt that this loan was necessary.

Defensive and central midfielders:  Robert Gucher (34),  Samson Tijani (23),  Filip Kocaba (20),  Pius Grabher (32),  Matthias Puschl (29),  Meletios Miskovic (26),  Nemanja Carevic (21)
- Here there is a little more spread of ages and perhaps it is in order to bring about a generational change soon. In the defensive midfield, the new acquisition Tijani is a given and then the idea is that Kocaba will be next to him. The experienced fox Gucher can be seen as a reserve, has previously tried to sell him and it was close, the deal was done but he simply wanted to stay. Puschl has been the most given player in central midfield but I like to see that there are more options, many players who can play in both defensive midfield and central midfield.

Wingers:  Tiba (24),  Mohamed Koné (22),  Stefan Duric (21),  Albin Gashi (28),  Jermaine Rijssel (20)
- The width of these two positions is not quite what I want it to be, there is clearly room for improvement here. Tiba has been good for two seasons now and in the meantime has developed well, in my opinion the biggest surprise of the team seeing how I looked at him before my first season. He will be our given choice on the right wing and on the left I expect Rijssel to take his chance, otherwise Gashi is not far away.

Strikers:  Csaba Mester (23),  Mika Peters (20)
- Last year we had a loan striker and he was good for large parts of the season, as we don't really have good strikers of our own and no money to sign, so once again we have to borrow quality. This season, the loaned and intended starting player is called Mika Peters. He hasn't managed to break through at his club, but I think he's good enough to start here. Otherwise, we have Masters who are ready to show off at this level.

 

Strebinger
Ludewig - Kambwala - N'Zi - Pirkl
Tijani - Kocaba
Puschl
Tiba ----------------- Rijssel
Peters

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

Transfer window Summer 2025/26

 

After a successful first season in the top league, it felt right to try to change the squad a little. We need to improve the club and at the same time reduce some wage costs and also get some transfer money. It would prove to be a difficult task, the finances of the club ahead of season three have not been pretty. Some players that we signed already last year had to move, none who directly had a future at the club, but were brought in to be sold on. The most recognizable player who has left is Maximilian Jus, the homegrown talent who scored 15 league goals in the first season. Last year there wasn't much playing time and I don't want to be in the way of his development. He will now stay in the second division with FAC Wien. Forgot to mention that last year's best player has also left, Lyngbo had a low clause that was activated by Rapid Wien, for only 475k euros he leaves us, quite sad to see.

Transfer in
 dr :: Kilian Ludewig :: 25 years :: FC Leifering :: Free
 gk :: Hans Christian Bernat :: 24 years :: Hellerup IK :: Free
 aml :: Albin Gashi :: 28 years :: FC Admira Wacker Mödling :: Free
 st :: Csaba Mester :: 23 years :: SV Oberwart :: 4.7k euro
 dm :: Samson Tijani :: 23 years :: FC Leifering :: 1.6k euro
 aml :: Jermaine Rijssel :: 20 years :: FC Volendam :: Loan
 st :: Mika Peters :: 20 years ;; Fortuna Sittard :: Loan
 dm :: Filip Kocaba :: 20 years :: KGHM Zaglebie :: Loan
 dl :: Didi Naarendorp :: 21 years :: Go Ahead Eagles :: Loan
 mc :: Pius Grabher :: 32 years :: Free Transfer

Transfer out
 st :: Damjan Mugosa :: 22 years :: SK Beveren :: 160k euro
 st :: Maximilian Jus :: 20 years :: FAC Wien :: 41.5k euro
 mc :: Clemens Hubsmann :: 24 years :: Neuchatel Xamax :: 26.5k euro
 dl :: Ikenna Ezeala :: 24 years :: Unterhaching :: 36k euro
 dr :: Simen Alexander Santos Lyngbo :: Rapid Wien :: 475k euro

In the end, there were a couple of new players to the squad. For the goalkeeper position, we picked up an interesting young Dane as I had a thought that Strebinger would leave on expiring contract. The Dane is picked up for free and when they only have a few days left on Strebinger's contract, the sporting director steps in and signs a new one with him, so now we are sitting on two talented goalkeepers. For the back line we bring in two players, Kilian Ludewig from RB Salzburg's second team replaces Lyngbo on the right wing. On the left wing we bring in Didi Naarendorp, we do not see him as a starting player but he is brought in as a reserve, the width of this position simply needed to be strengthened. In the defensive midfield, two players are brought in, Samson Tijani and Filip Kocaba. Tijani followed Ludewig from Salzburg absolutely free and Kocaba joins on a loan, width and competition are important I feel. For the central midfield, our sporting director thought we needed to gain some experience, 32-year-old Grabher joins on a 1-year contract, we'll see if it becomes anything more than that. The sporting director also brought in Gashi but I felt we needed at least one more player in that particular position so I loaned Jermaine Rijssel from Volendam, this will be his first real season as a starting player, let's hope for success! The last two players in are for our attack. The sporting director brings in a player from lower levels in Mester, he has been extremely good there so we will see if this will be a level too difficult for him. Last but not least, Mika Peters is on loan from Fortuna Sittard, he looks incredibly interesting and here we can probably expect some goals.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

Well.... The season is over before it even starts.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• The whole season we have played really well and a lot has been peace and joy. But then we are drawn to the championship group and everything falls flat. We never manage to win our matches but the only win we take is in the last match and then we have obviously lost enough. However, we should be damned satisfied that we manage to reach a European place already in our first season in the top league, how crazy isn't that? Next year it's the Europa League for Kapfenberger!

 

• Now that all the games have been played, we can be satisfied with a fourth place, it's not a shame for a team that would really fight to stay up. RB Salzburg are given winners while Austria Klagenfurt is the team that falls out of the top league. Maybe we should give the top three a fight next year?

 

• Malensek, whom we loaned this season and who played inverted winger, proved to be a real goal scorer, second in the scoring league with 13 goals is something he should be happy about. Perhaps less flattering were the fact that he also picked up the most yellow cards. However, the star of the team has been our fullback Lyngbo. Second highest average score, most assists and and most player of the match, need I say more?

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• The break arrives and after some time off, three friendlies were booked in to get back in shape again. All three teams play in the second division and were perfectly fine opposition to face. Surprisingly difficult against the team that is second last in the second league where we get a draw but concede three goals, you were a little worried then and there.
• We then start league play again by facing RB Salzburg. There was little hope before the game considering that we were playing at home, but it would turn out to be a one-sided story. We end the month all the better, two wins and a good position in terms of the table.
• The game was a little more difficult during March, of course we didn't lose the games, but considering how good we were during the season, it's a little sad to lose when you've been in the top for so long. But as newcomers, maybe you shouldn't complain but rather enjoy, we've done very well and now that the league is split up, you'll find us in the championship group. A match was played there and as you can see and maybe understand, it was a draw against bitter rivals Sturm Graz.

 

• The league is divided and very even, RB Salzburg can be seen at the top. If they manage to lose momentum and the rest of us win our matches, it could be an exciting finish.

 

• TRANSFER IN | Only one player in during the winter and it wasn't someone I saw as a starting player, but instead more like a player we could loan out and in the future maybe make a little bit of money from.

 

• TRANSFER OUT | One player entered, the more left the club, one player left permanently and that was Sebastian Leimhofer. He went to the team that is last in the second division and that is probably where his level is. Otherwise, there have been players who left on loan. Nya Asger ended up in a semi-professional team where he is doing very well, maybe he is building a reputation for himself. Previous signings, young ones in the form of Mugosa and Gudnason go abroad and get important playing time there, let's hope for development.

 

• When young talents joined, they had built up some hopes, but pretty quickly they were brought down to earth. In the end we only picked two players but Ralf Ahrent looks to be our biggest talents right now. We have to put him through hard training and maybe we'll get a future starter here!

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• Before the break, we played four games and it went pretty well. Above all, there were two players who really stood out. Our on-loan inverted winger in Malensek accounts for four goals and our on-loan striker didn't want to be worse. Zlatan scores six goals, we absolutely cannot complain about these players, both are on 10 league goals each. All in all I'm happy with the month, sure we lost to a top competitor but that's how it goes sometimes. The most important thing is of course that our bitter rivals Sturm Graz got a solid round.

 

• Talk about the league table being even, of course RB Salzburg is on a level of its own, but we are a couple of teams that are behind and fighting with each other. It will be exciting to see where this leads in the coming spring.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• September starts well with a big win against our biggest rivals in the form of Sturm Graz, it has to be said that we were 0-2 down before we woke up in the game, the 1-2 goal just before half time proved to be important for us. This was then followed by a draw against RB Salzburg and an overrun against WSG Tirol.
• The cup game then awaited and we had been drawn against Hartberg, who last year left the top league. The boys probably thought a little too highly of themselves and were brought down to earth, a really unnecessary exit from the cup this early. Unfortunately, the loss seems to have done a lot of damage, just one win in the next four games and from actually threatening RB Salzburg to now dropping places. But we must also be realistic, things have gone too well so maybe it's time to bring us down to earth again.

 

• As you can see, RB Salzburg leads the league quite clearly, after that it is very even. From our position in third place down to last place, there is a difference of 9 points, if we don't get caught now and continue to go bad, it can go quickly.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• We played a total of five practice matches before the league game started and among the goal scorers you may find a name you may not recognise. Jordan Thompson was one of many trial players at the club and he would have been signed if he hadn't asked for far too much in wages. Instead, he has now ended up in Coventry. A pre-season that can be summed up as approved in terms of results.
• In the first round of the cup, we faced the team that left the second division last year in the form of Bregenz. An easy win and we progressed and Gucher scores on his debut. Our first match in the league ended in a loss, the players were probably overwhelmed by the gravity of the moment, but I won't complain. the goal for the season is not to go out. After that introduction, we came to life again. Two wins and two draws and you can say that the old Kapfenberger is back! Many of the new players have proven to be important already, this could be an interesting season!

 

• More wins than losses, I must say, is a good start. We may not score that many goals going forward but defensively we have been very good, let's hope that form continues. We are not even going to talk about the fact that we are already 10 points behind the league leaders, RB Salzburg is going like a train and I have a hard time seeing any team catching up.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• TRANSFER OUT | Actually, there is only one player here who played last year and that is, as you understand, Mandler. He goes from being a star with us to becoming a Squad player in WSG Tirol, his loss if you ask me. Otherwise, we have tried to loan out young players who are not expected to get much playing time here. After that, we have tried to sell players we don't see as having a future at the club. It's funny that two players end up at the same club in Belgium, that both are center backs makes them even more pleasant.

 

• TRANSFER IN | We needed to bring in new players so I really had to act during the summer window. Only two signings were made by our sporting director, 33-year-old defensive midfielder Gucher and central midfielder Hubmann who is seen as a reserve. As we haven't had a lot of money to move around with, we have had to rely on players on expiring contracts such as players who were clubless. Many players were signed for a starting spot. Pirkl is intended as a left-back, Lyngbo will have to take care of the second full-back position. Some loans were also made and they too are seen as starting players. 18-year-old defensive midfielder Vashchenko plays the Olympics with Ukraine first, then he is expected to be successful! I considered our offensive left wing to be too weak, so after a bit of searching, Malensek was picked from the Slovenian league where he was a starting player last year. I also considered that Jus was too bad to start in the top league, so I was looking for a striker. In Dinamo Zagreb we found Zlatan (unfortunately not the lion). Last year he was loaned to Lokomotiva Zagreb without getting to show himself properly, we expect goals here! The recruitment of Kambwala feels really interesting, was really surprised that he even wanted to join.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• In the last two months, we were able to put all our focus on the league and I think the players were a little taken by the moment. We didn't lose any of the final matches, but of course we still had a hard time, some tied matches made it unnecessarily exciting. In the penultimate round, we had the chance to win the league, we just needed to win against Leoben, a team in the bottom half. We took the lead and look to keep it. The match is coming to an end, we reach the 90th minute of the match and they get a throw-in and I immediately feel that something is wrong, the goal was in the air and it turned out that the feeling was right, 1-1 was made and now we had to decide the league in the last round instead. The bottom team Bregenz waited and we win with 1-0, the title secured and the achievement is a fact! Kapfenberger was tipped for 13th place before the season, now we win the league and will play in the top league, Ljuboja has made a good start to his coaching career!

 

• Do I really need to write anything here? I'll let the picture do the talking.

 

• 20-year-old Koné and 19-year-old Jus both stop at 15 league goals and thus share the top scorer along with Pecirep from Stripfing. Our left back Mandler had the second highest average rating and I'm not surprised, 18 points in total is a hell of an achievement. Unfortunately we will lose him for next season, he was on an expiring contract and we could not extend. Our finances did not allow us to offer either so next season we will see him in WSG Tirol.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• Shortly after the last update was written, some practice matches were booked to find back into match form. Slovan Liberec from the Czech Republic visited before our quarter-final in the cup and we played a good game, a draw against them I'm happy with. But then we come to the cup game. The squad is relatively rotated but we would still win fairly easily, I thought. We find it very difficult to score and the match is taken to extra time. In the 95th minute, we are the ones who take the lead and the thoughts from our own side are that the match is now over, they cannot possibly turn around. Then something happens, situations upon situations are created from the opponents and suddenly we lose everything. When the referee blows the match off, Leobendorf has poked in four balls, the second goalkeeper Weiser let everything go and the debutant Dosso had a nightmare debut. Now RedBull awaits in the semis, let's hope it can surprise there too!
• The loss in the cup was a wake-up call for the players, we cannot play like this. In addition to having played a draw against Stripfing, there were only wins. This means that we now have a good position in the table, with nine games left, we now have to stick together and do the best we can.

 

• Five points lead with nine games remaining and the team that is second in the table is RedBull's second team, a team that cannot go up to the top league. This means that the real threat right now SV Horn who has found a super form at the moment. They have nine points up on us so really it shouldn't be possible to catch up, but we have to be careful, crazy stuff happens constantly in this save.

 

• Five players that I have a little extra eye on, however, three of the players have extremely low determination and that is very sad. Kovachev, Mladenovic and Feustel really have a lot to do to reach the top desired by them.

 

• The economy is not good, but I managed to bring in talent where the idea is that we should develop and then sell at a profit. Adam Dosso has a past in Nantes but was without a club when we found him. A centre-back who is over two meters tall, his size makes him a threat in the air. However, his debut was a nightmare, in the cup game he was involved and went out.
• We sent back two players from their loan as well. Both Hofer and Marinovic had good development and approached the starting eleven in terms of ability. You can actually see both of them among the goalscorers above!

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

 

• It will be a short update as we only had these matches left this year, the next match will be played on February 10. We started by winning the cup again. Once again we were drawn against a team from the autumn league and once again we win, absolutely wonderful! It should also be mentioned that Linz is the team that leads the top league, but they couldn't win against us! We then got a dream draw in the quarter finals, Leobendorf who play lower down in the divisions have surprisingly made it all the way here. The plan is to destroy their cup dreams!
• In the league, however, things have not gone as well. Two wins should of course not be waved away, but the losses against big rivals Sturm Graz and First Wien felt unnecessary. We absolutely do not need to make the series more even than it already is.

 

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• SEPTEMBER | Can't we just start talking about the cup? When we were drawn against Rapid Wien, I had already expected to go out. Rapid may not be having their best start to the season, but with that said, they are sizes bigger than us, we should simply lose given the odds. However, we showed our best side, game-wise we were actually better. They came to the end more times but we were the more efficient team. Rapid shot more but in terms of xG we were better. N'Zi headed in a corner and striker Jus scored on a cutback five minutes before the end of the first half. 18 year old Jus has really played good football this month!
• The league game continued to go well, not a single loss and you have to be happy about that. Two wins and two draws mean that we are still high in the table. As I mentioned above, Jus had a really good month and managed to net in every game, not something I would have expected going into the season but I'm certainly not complaining.
• OCTOBER | In October there were fewer matches as there has been a national team break. We have been reasonably weak at the back here, but most of the time it has been saved by our offensive. Two wins against good teams and then we finish in the worst way by losing to FAC Vienna who have not been good at all this season. Let's hope this was a one-off and we can bounce back to winning ways again.

 

• After 12 rounds we are still leading the league! However, we shouldn't stare at it blindly, SV Stripfing is only two points behind and RedBull's second team is close behind. Next month I think can be really important for us, we meet Sturm Graz II, Leoben and Bregenz and it should be nine sure points if we are to aim to be in the top for the rest of the season.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

On 27/05/2024 at 17:59, TelcontarTargaryen said:

I remember him having great form for Strasbourg, sadly he never did it for Serbia national team.

Let's hope he does better as a coach!

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• JULY | So how has it gone for Kapfenberger? I'm not going to complain, I guess. Two practice matches were booked and we lined up with rotated squads in both of them. There were two wins, not big ones, but wins nonetheless. We start the cup with a win, we faced a team from a lower division and it showed. Again somewhat rotated squad. Because as the last match that month, we started the league game against SV Horn. What an insane start we got in that match, we completely outplay them and win 5-1.
• AUGUST | We didn't fly for long, First Wien brought us down to earth immediately and 0-3 is not what we had expected after such a good start. However, the squad took this the right way, we bounced back and ended August with three straight wins. Our defense showed incredible class and I have been surprised by how good my wingers have been. The part of the team that I considered to be the weakest has really started very well.

 

• I did not expect that after the first two months we would lead the league. If you ask me, it's been far too easy and I'm a little worried that we'll soon lose the momentum. However, we can be happy with how we have performed and the only game we have lost has been against a team that will be fighting at the top of the table.

 

• IN | Haxha was signed before I joined, so I have brought in two players during my time at the club. The first player brought in was signed by my sporting director in the shape of Ikenna Ezeala. As we only had one player who could play left back, he was brought in to be a reserve and an alternative in case of injuries. Björn Bogi Gudnason appeared in the scouting reports and he was without a club, I thought he was talented enough to be tested, he didn't demand much salary and if he just develops as desired we can have a good striker here in the future.
• OUT | Only two players have left the club and both are two talents in need of playing time. Full back Hofer went to Austria Salzburg where I expect plenty of playing time and development. Midfielder Marinovic ended up in VfB Hohenems and the same thing there, we think this benefits him.

[[FM24] Is Austria ready for Ljuboja?]

 

• Strebinger is the given choice in goal, with one cap for Austria and a career in both Germany, Poland and Austria.
• Weiser and Karic are both interesting talents, initially Weiser will sit on the bench, maybe we should loan Karic out to give him some playing time and development.

 

• Our centre-backs are of a high standard, N'Zi and Szerencsi are both young and can be developed, it's a shame that N'Zi doesn't want to stay at the club at the moment. If we make a good play, maybe we can make him change his mind.
• Seidl and Mandler start in the fullback positions. Despite his young age, Mandler has already played 65 games for the club and there will probably be many more. Seidl is the player with the most competition, Wippel is as good as Seidl and Hofer is the club's biggest talent.
• The back line has good potential with many young players, it doesn't feel like we will have to worry at this particular position.

 

• Our two starting defensive midfielders are also young, as many in the team are. Serbian Miskovic has a past with both Aris and PAOK but it wasn't until he joined Kapfenberger that he really broke through. Next to him we have 19-year-old Walchhütter, he has a past in a rival club in Sturm Graz. Has a possible future in the top league if all goes well.
• We only play one player as a central midfielder, Puschl in his best moments is a leading player in the team, however he does not like big games and seems to be injury prone, we will simply have to wait and see where this goes.
• Our inverted wingers feel like the position where we are weakest right now. 19-year-old Koné and 22-year-old Tiba are the ones who get to start the season, but we'll see where the season leads. According to reports, neither of them are up to par for this series right now. This will be a position where we may have to look for other options.

 

• Unfortunately, we have to realize that the attack is also not at a high level right now. Adin Omic and Hofleitner will share this role initially. We hope that Duric and Jus can develop during the season and give us some options.