The GAK is back
The Bundesliga is a very personal fairytale!
Christian Lichtenberger had actually already ended his career as a footballer. But the 28-year-old was persuaded to carry on and will soon be pulling the strings in midfield for GAK in the Bundesliga. First, however, everyday life in the second division awaits Horn on Saturday.
"Simply unbelievable! I still don't have words for it," says Christian Lichtenberger, his joy at achieving promotion to the Bundesliga with GAK clearly visible. "This is something very special for me. I come from the very bottom, I never attended an academy. And next season I'll be a player in the Bundesliga. It's a small dream that has come true."
A dream that was almost over years ago. "Football didn't used to be my top priority. I even stopped playing for six months when I was a youth player. Fortunately, I had two coaches who knew what I was capable of," says Lichtenberger, thinking back to his time at his home club Dietach. And smiles: "They sometimes picked me up at home to take me to the games."
The offer came after his A-levels
From the youth team through to the first team, it was always the same team he played with. "There was never any talk of me leaving. Nobody believed that I would ever change clubs. Then I finished my A-levels and I got an offer from Steyr," says the 28-year-old. "I told myself that I would give it a go and see how far I could really get."
Via Steyr, Amstetten and Lafnitz he then made his way to GAK. The rest is history. "It's unbelievable that I'll soon be playing in the Bundesliga. If you had told me that five years ago, I would have said you were crazy." Now it's a reality. On Saturday, he and the GAK will play in the Merkur Arena for the first time as champions when Horn come to town. "I hope a lot of fans will be there and it will be a little tune-up for the Bundesliga. I'm looking forward to celebrating with the fans in the curve after the game and realizing what we've achieved in the stadium."
The "Red Jackets" will by no means give away the last four games. "This year, the pressure was probably even higher than last season. Promotion was a huge weight off everyone's shoulders. Now we can play freely. It will be really cool to play in front of so many fans. And we definitely don't want to lose there!"
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