Coach wants more

Saved! That’s not good enough for Silberberger

Thomas Silberberger at the final whistle.

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

At first, WSG Tirol were relieved to have been relegated from the Bundesliga - but the next day they were proud of their sixth year in the top flight. Was the future coach sitting in the stands at the Tivoli Stadium at the weekend?

Beer shower times two. Because coach Thomas Silberberger had to attend a Sky interview in between, the players had two beers after the 0-0 draw against Austria Lustenau and the team's safe relegation. The outgoing coach was not helped by the wild insults ("You're such a..."). League stayers know no mercy.

Felix Bacher during the 0-0 draw against Austria Lustenau

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Basically, "Silbi" didn't give a damn. He will hand over his club at the end of the season after eleven years in Wattens in the top division. That's what counts. And that makes the 50-year-old proud. He has led WSG up from the regional league, he has kept them there. "That's a very cool thing."

For the first time this millennium
In addition, the Tyrolean club from Wattens has now secured its sixth consecutive season in the Bundesliga. The black-green local rivals have not managed that in this millennium (at most four seasons in a row), the last time only FC Tirol was in the domestic top flight for longer under different names (1981 to 2002).

We were in play-off mode. More venomous in tackles, dirtier. We really switched gears in our heads.

WSG-Trainer Thomas Silberberger

For Silberberger, it was the most commanding qualifying group performance of his era. The performances in the phase after the points were shared were impressive. Unfortunately, that was never the case in the basic round: "We never found the right formation, we never had the right grip in the games," agreed the WSG coach.

No company outings
The squad will meet again in Wattens on Tuesday to determine the plan for the last three weeks together. However, Silberberger does not want the games at Blau Weiß Linz (Saturday, 17), against Altach at the Tivoli and in Wolfsberg to degenerate into "company outings". The coach wants a goal for the remaining 270 minutes - the players have a say. "But for me it makes a huge difference whether you finish eleventh or ninth."

Is Pipo a coaching candidate?
Diana Langes, president of WSG Tirol, sat next to Tirol legend Pipo Gorosito in the stands during the 0-0 draw against Austria Lustenau. No coincidence. Even if the soon-to-be 60-year-old Argentinian looked somewhat irritated at the empty Tivoli Stadium before the start of the match: "It's sad that there aren't more spectators."

Diana Langes with Pipo Gorosito

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Is the former Argentinian international really on the list of possible coaches for WSG Tirol? Well, Gorosito does not match the actual requirements profile of sports director Stefan Köck. Because they are looking for a (very good) German-speaking coach who knows soccer in Austria and, above all, the Bundesliga perfectly.