Rapid struggles

“For him it’s a whistle – for us it’s the world”

Grgic (far left) bit through in the final - now he's injured. Kongolo (center) is injured again. Burgstaller (right) is questionable.

(Bild: GEPA)

Rapid struggles with the Cup trauma, coach Robert Klauß says: "For the referee it's a whistle, for us it's the world." The players, meanwhile, are whistling from the last hole. A show of strength for fourth place is on the cards. "We want to show that we're still here," says the coach.

He has hardly slept, has not looked at the analysis video of the final - Rapids coach Klauß is also struggling to come to terms with the shattered Cup dream. "It's getting better day by day." Only the lack of understanding for referee Gishamer remains: "Without emotions I would have formulated it (his criticism) differently, but in terms of content I stick to it," Klauß does not understand why the VAR images were not used for Storm's 2:1. "Every good referee looks at it. He just wiped it away. For him it was just a whistle, but for us it's the world."

"Extreme risk"
Yesterday - after remaining silent about the last three league defeats - Klauß also shed light on the personnel situation in Hütteldorf: "We didn't spare anyone, took extreme risks and even brought in many players too early." In the cup final, the top eleven was on the pitch in terms of names, but not everyone was fully fit, let alone in rhythm.

"The automatisms were missing. But many of the players on the bench weren't at full strength either," said Klauß. "We lost too many players with high quality." Burgstaller and Grgic played without having trained beforehand. Kongolo, who came on as a substitute, had to be substituted again due to injury. Although Cvetkovic's knee remained stable, his muscles did not after the eight-month break.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

In the summer, it will have to be analyzed why it felt like half the squad was injured in the season finale. Most of the players were "caught out" in duels. For the time being, however, Klauß is only interested in who he can get "match fit" tomorrow against Salzburg. The injury list has grown: Auer (end of season), Seydi (meniscus surgery), Lang (suspended), Kongolo and Cvetkovic are all out. "We still have question marks," said Klauß. Burgstaller and Grgic were again unable to train.

The final goal
"It's difficult in the current situation, but we're trying," said Klauß, adding that fourth place is now the last remaining goal. "With the resources we still have, we want to hurt them and give Salzburg a fight." Rapid can only take the same approach as in the cup final, i.e. fight and passion. "The game is also important for the mood barometer, to show that we're still here."