Great jubilation at Sturm

The shambles was followed by the double!

Sturm has achieved its dream: after winning the cup, the club has now also become champions!

(Bild: Pail Sepp/Sepp Pail)

Four years have passed between the disastrous season and the historic triumph. Sturm has done everything right since the new beginning. This year was the harvest time for those responsible at the Graz club. An exclamation mark was also set internationally.

July 5, 2020 was by no means a happy day in the black-and-white club's history. And yet the day had something good about it: Sturm had suffered, a new beginning was needed. It couldn't go on like this, that was clear to everyone: Sturm's management, the sporting leadership and the supporters.

One mistake was made
Sturm finished the championship group with a 1:4 rebuff at home against underdog Hartberg, a resounding slap in the face for the club that would have loved to play in the concert of the greats again. Instead, they went all out before the season and dug unusually deep into their pockets. Kiril Despodov and Bekim Balaj, for example, were signed. The former stood out above all for his star allure; no one in the team at the time could smell the Bulgarian, who had come on loan from Cagliari.

(Bild: Marlene Borkenstein/Sepp Pail)

The overpriced team failed to do almost anything, stumbling more badly than well through the championship group - nine out of ten games were lost! In the end, only sixth place, eight points behind Hartberg. It could hardly have been worse. The fans only saw the black and white horror in front of the TV box, Corona only allowed ghost games for a long time.

This is champion Sturm

Turnover: 44.7 million euros
of which:
- 5.5 million ticketing
- 19.1 million sponsorship and broadcasting rights
- 2.4 million merchandising

Members: 13,549

Average attendance: 14,800

Championship titles: 1998, 1999, 2011, 2024

Cup wins: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2010, 2018, 2023, 2024

And there is magic in every beginning. Head of Sport Andreas Schicker took over and rolled up his sleeves. "I knew where to pull the lever." He brought in Christian Ilzer as coach. A stroke of gold. Since then, things have gone uphill, season after season: 36 points after the split in 20/21, 37 the following year, then 42 before being crowned double kings this year! A season for the history books, also internationally. The sporting success was accompanied by an economic boom.

Targeted investment
This was also due to the fact that they made it through the winter in the European Cup for the first time in 23 years: they only reached the last 16 of the Conference League against Lille. The Blacks raked in more than seven million in this European Cup year. Not bad, Mr. Specht. But a mere pittance compared to the income that is now coming in: the club will rake in around 25 million euros (18.6 as entry fee) from participation in the Premier League alone!

We will use the income to develop strategically.

Thomas Tebbich

"We will use the income to develop strategically. Part of it will go into the professional team and the other teams, part into the office, infrastructure and the new training center. I don't believe in the watering can principle," emphasizes Thomas Tebbich, who as Sturm's economic captain (see graphic) is responsible for record figures.