Lustenau relegated

Heraf: “Great disappointment and emptiness inside me”

Andreas Heraf

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Austria Lustenau's relegation from the Bundesliga certainly came as no surprise. Nevertheless, the certainty that set in on Saturday after a 1:0 against Blau-Weiß Linz came like a punch in the face. 

"It's a great disappointment and emptiness in me," said coach Andreas Heraf. Pius Grabher was not sparing with his criticism, but was defiant: "Once we're out of the mourning phase, we'll have to gather our strength and tackle a new goal."

The captain summed up the mood in the team after the saddest victory of the season. "Of course it hurts incredibly that we have to say goodbye to the Bundesliga," he dictated into the Sky microphone after Altach had secured relegation with a 1-0 win at WSG Tirol. Lustenau's hands were tied, even a double-digit win would not have changed their fate. "Everyone mourns us. We are simply a cult club in Austria," said goalkeeper Domenik Schierl. Fabian Gmeiner was also "very sad".

Austria Lustenau must accept relegation.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

"We did everything we could to make it, but in reality the rucksack from the autumn was simply too big," analyzed Heraf. When he took over in December, a jolt went through the team, just as the results gradually showed an upward trend. In the 14 games under the Viennese, there were four wins, five draws and five defeats. This results in an average of 1.21 points per game - in the 17 games under Markus Mader and his interim successors, the average was a paltry 0.18 points.

That's the crux of the matter
"The team that has been together since the winter is definitely not responsible for the relegation. I think you can see that there's a lot of life in it, that great guys have joined," said Grabher, a Lustenau veteran, in a positive assessment of the change of course taken in the winter, including new signings such as Matheus Lins and Nico Gorzel. For better or worse, those responsible around outgoing sports coordinator Alexander Schneider will have to live with the accusation that this was done too late.

For Grabher, however, the problem lies elsewhere. "I believe that far too many mistakes were made in the summer transfer window," said the midfielder, who will remain at the club like many of his colleagues in the 2nd division. "When you make such serious mistakes as a small club like Austria Lustenau with the smallest budget, it's difficult to make up for it." Grabher did not want to specify which "mistakes" he meant. The fact is that players signed as top performers such as Nikolai Baden Frederiksen and Boris Moltenis and others did not hit the ground running and were gone again in the winter.

Whether Heraf will also remain on board in the 2nd division will be determined after upcoming talks. "It would be great fun for me to tackle this project again next year. On the other hand, we know how difficult it is to get promoted again straight away. But I think we can do it," said the 56-year-old, who coached the Green-Whites from May 2003 to June 2005. After relegation in 2000, it took 22 years for Lustenau to return to the Bundesliga. The new Reichshofstadion should be ready by 2025.

Farewell against Altach
Lustenau will play their farewell match next Saturday in the derby at Altach. Thanks to an unusually efficient performance at the Tivoli in Innsbruck, the Ländle rivals were able to breathe a sigh of relief after yet another explosive season finale. "It was an exhausting time, the tension had been palpable for three or four weeks. Now we're happy to be out of there," said coach Joachim Standfest, who had actually seen his team in slightly higher table positions just months ago. The jubilation after the 1-0 win against WSG Tirol had caused "emotional chaos" for him, the Styrian emphasized on Sky. "It's in my stomach that we shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place."

After his first year as first division coach, however, Standfest was already quite optimistic about the coming season. "We were a newly assembled coaching team and certainly made the odd wrong decision. I'm still too much of a player, that's the wrong way to go," said the 40-year-old. He was also "too lenient" at times. The most pressing personnel issue is in attack. "We were desperately looking for a striker in the summer and in the winter too. We know that we have construction sites there."