"Krone" interview

Austria chairman: “Promotion is the clear goal this year”

Austria Salzburg is the favorite going into the coming season.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas/Kronen Zeitung)

Austria Salzburg go into the 2024/25 Western League season as defending champions. In an interview with the "Krone" a few days before the start, chairman David Rettenbacher spoke about the dream of the 2nd division, the stadium and his own position, which he himself never dreamed of.

"Krone": Mr. Rettenbacher, the new season is just around the corner: what are you most looking forward to?
David Rettenbacher: Ultimately, every single game. We believe that we have strengthened our squad well and are in an even better position than last year. But it will also take some time for the new players to fully integrate into the system. If everything goes perfectly, I'm most looking forward to the game in which we secure the championship title and have the license in the bag. Preferably in a home game.

What lessons have you learned from the past season as a board member? In sporting terms, we did the job.
The spring in particular was a special pressure, a special time for the team. I would like to express my respect for that once again. As a board, we didn't manage to get the license. The fact is that we failed, although I can't really blame us. Despite great support from city politicians and the relevant authorities, the whole process may have started too late, even from an external perspective. Of course, we could have prepared everything even earlier, but last summer we didn't expect to develop so quickly ourselves. We didn't even think about promotion until October. That's the big difference to this year. We make no secret of it: We want to achieve promotion this year! That is our clear goal. 

Last season, the Violets were crowned champions. However, it was not enough to gain promotion.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas/Kronen Zeitung)

What would promotion mean for the club?
An incredible amount. Like every sports club, we always strive for the highest. Moving up from the regional league to the second division is certainly a very big step, we are all aware of that. We want to prove that we are in a better overall position than 9 years ago, when we were briefly in the second division. The entire Austria family will work on this and we will be measured against this.

It has almost always given the impression of being top to bottom. Are things similar or different this year?
That's true, but the things that we had to do as a club and where we had direct influence were completed on time and in full, and we were expressly praised by the Bundesliga for the way we handled them. If we had received the building permit on time, we would have been granted the license. We now know the processes even better and are dealing with the whole issue at an earlier stage. When we are ready in sporting terms, the whole process will still be stressful again, but not so tight in terms of time.

And even if we are certainly one of the championship contenders for many others - it's soccer, you can't plan anything. That's why we will only strive for promotion if it is within reach in the fall.

Rettenbacher (left) with President Claus Salzmann.

(Bild: zVg)

The stadium in Maxglan is now fit to play. Is there anything you still need to work on, especially with a view to possible promotion?
The biggest issue is definitely the floodlights. While the floodlights were still the most modern in Austria in 2015, we now have to replace all the lights due to changes in the law. The total costs for this are in the mid-six-figure range. Our President Claus Salzmann is very active in this area and has announced that he will resolve the issue with various partners as soon as it is foreseeable that we are ready in sporting terms. Claus has generally done an outstanding job for over six years. We wouldn't be where we are now without him. I would also like to thank the entire Executive Board team. If you think back to where Austria was six and a half years ago, it's quite remarkable what has been achieved here. In addition to hard work, it also involves a lot of sacrifices. Without our members, fans and volunteers, none of this would have been possible. They are the backbone of the club and will hopefully always remain so.

In the 2nd division, it is also necessary to be more professional. Who actually has the sporting competence in the club?
That lies at the top with Christian Schaider, and below that with his coaching team. It's a well-known issue for us that we ultimately don't have enough sporting expertise on the board and the personal union of coach and sporting director is still working at the moment due to Christian's great commitment and the fantastic team behind him, but it's not sustainable for the next step.

So you want to work on that?
Yes, that's something we want to improve with regard to the 2nd division. We've already done that once in the past, but it didn't work out as planned. Basically, however, it's always a financial question.

You've been chairman for just under a year. You never wanted this role, did you? Why?
I actually always just wanted to be a fan, go to the game and enjoy it. Work in the background at most.

Has this feeling changed?
As soon as there is a suitable successor, I would make the position available immediately. However, this is not really in sight at the moment. But one thing is also clear: although I don't see myself as the ideal candidate for this position, I will always put myself at the service of the cause and help Austria where it makes sense for our members. But I can't and don't want to do this on the front line forever.