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LIVE: Rapid face AC Milan in a test match thriller

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Rapid face AC Milan in a test match in front of a sold-out crowd. We report live, see ticker below. The score is currently 1-0 to Milan.

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SK Rapid are starting the new soccer season with around half a dozen new players, a new captain and an adapted basic formation. Matthias Seidl succeeds Guido Burgstaller as the Hütteldorfer's new captain, and things will get serious for the first time next Thursday in the Europa League qualifier away to Wisla Krakow. The anniversary game against AC Milan on Saturday (5.30pm) will serve as a dress rehearsal for coach Robert Klauss.

Rapid has lost two key players in striker Marco Grüll (Werder Bremen) and central defender Leopold Querfeld (Union Berlin). Homecomer Louis Schaub and Croatian center forward Dion Beljo were brought in for the offense, Mamadou Sangare for the midfield, French central defender Jean-Philippe Raux Yao for the defense and Hungarian European Championship participant Bendeguz Bolla and Benjamin Böckle for the flanks. "There is a lot of quality, there is greater competition, there is fire in training," said managing director Steffen Hofmann about the squad composition.

The majority of the squad has been training for weeks, with the European Championship participants also joining in this week. "I'm very pleased that we've compensated for the departures, not one-to-one, but in a different form. I have a good feeling that we have integrated the new additions well," explained Klauss at the end of the last week of preparation.

A double test match on Saturday against Admira (10.30 a.m.) and the visit of AC Milan on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of Hütteldorfer in front of a sold-out crowd will mark the start of an intensive week. All players should get 90 minutes of action. "Milan is a dress rehearsal against a very good opponent, we are still getting good impressions of what fits together," said the coach.

System change
This applies to the personnel, but also to the adapted system. The basic formation was changed from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2. "I think that's too high," said Klauss. The change is not that serious, the only thing that is really new is that Rapid now play with two real strikers. "We'll continue to play with a back four, with a double six and two on the flanks," said the German. The aim now is to consolidate the processes in the many games in a short space of time.

It starts with the two games against Krakow on Thursday away and on August 1 (20:30) at home and the start of the Bundesliga season with the home game against champions Sturm Graz on August 4. The fourth-placed team of the past two seasons has not set a target for the championship, but the international target is clear. "The first goal is to qualify for a European group stage," explained Klauss.

In the championship last season, they were "further behind third place than fifth place", the coach recalled. "We want to close that gap." Hofmann, who will be involved in a legends match on Saturday ahead of the Milan game, is also expecting an improvement. "We were successful in sporting terms, but not top-top-top. Robert will hopefully change that," he said to the coach.

Hopes rest on returnee Schaub
Schaub, who has returned to his former club after six years abroad (1. FC Köln, Hamburger SV, Luzern, Hannover 96), is expected to help. "It was the easiest move for me so far, I still know a lot of people," said the 29-year-old attacking player. He himself "hasn't changed much, I've got a bit older, richer in experience". He now wants to pass this on to the younger players. And to build on his internationally successful performances - after all, Schaub has scored the third most European Cup goals for the club after Hans Krankl and Steffen Hofmann.

Away from sporting matters, Hofmann announced at a press conference on Friday that the number of members has increased by around 30 percent to 20,600 since the election of the new presidium in November 2022. Business Director Marcus Knipping also presented good figures. The current crowd investment project "is about to be fully subscribed", says Knipping. Accordingly, EUR 2.5 million was placed for the five-year investment and EUR 1.4 million for the ten-year variant.

Renovations were carried out in the VIP areas of the Allianz Stadium in the summer to create better marketing opportunities. During the summer break, a new premium partner was also found in the form of Raiffeisen Niederösterreich-Wien, with whom a new partnership was established after more than five decades. Raiffeisen was Rapid's first shirt sponsor for a few months in 1970.