Plays for Werder

Automatically saved draft

Austria Klagenfurt are looking around at German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Bundesliga side Austria Klagenfurt will travel to Tyrol this Saturday with an "empty bench". But it could soon be fuller. After a bumpy start with one point, they are about to sign a talented midfielder from Werder Bremen (who has played one international match for Togo), according to exclusive "Krone" information.

Austria Klagenfurt have the so-called bonus games behind them. The 1:4 draw against WAC was a collapse, the 1:1 draw against Rapid (ten men from minute 47 onwards) was a strong defensive performance, and the 0:2 defeat to Sturm was an unfortunate loss as the better team.

And so it's all the more important today, when a team at eye level awaits with WSG Tirol. "An opponent - like Blau-Weiß Linz next Sunday - in our league. If we perform like we did against Sturm, we'll be rewarded!", says sporting director Günther Gorenzel, who believes we can secure our first win.

Austria coach Peter Pacult is already annoyed by the VAR decisions.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

"One in the goose"
Of course, the VAR should also "play along" this time. The Bundesliga recently even admitted three wrong decisions against Klagenfurt in the match against Sturm. "That was another one in the goschn. It's nice, but unfortunately we have absolutely no insight at all," Peter Pacult was rightly annoyed.

Both assistants suspended
And the head coach has to sit almost alone on the bench today! His assistants Martin Lassnig and Sandro Zakany have been suspended for one match for criticism. Goalkeeping coach Marc Lamberger thus mutates into the "girl for everything". First he warms up the goalies, then the team, then the German takes care of the video analysis during the game. All agendas that Zakany and Lassnig usually have to deal with - the latter is jetting off to Favoriten today instead, where he will "spy" on Siegendorf when they face FavAC. Because on Tuesday the Burgenlanders await in the 2nd Cup round.

Pacult will leave it up to his players to decide who will take the next penalty - Chris Cvetko missed the last one.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Penalty taker remains open
Speaking of agendas: After Cvetko missed the last penalty against Sturm, what about the penalty takers? "The players should decide for themselves, they're old enough - until I intervene," says Pacult. Gkezos, in any case, has yet to miss one in his purple kit - three out of three!

While Soto (who played for the amateurs) and May (with a health problem) were not on the bus to Tyrol yesterday, a new player could arrive in Klagenfurt next week according to "Krone" information: namely Dikeni Salifou!

The giant Dikeni Salifou (left) could soon be joining Austria Klagenfurt.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Transfer target knows Muharemovic
The 21-year-old midfielder belongs to Werder Bremen, played last season on loan at Juventus II in Serie C (with Carinthian Tarik Muharemovic!). Austria are in final talks to loan out the powerful, 1.91-meter tall and versatile international (can also help out as a defender!) from Togo. He has played one 90-minute game for the African national team. Salifou was also allowed to take part in Werder's preparations, was at the camp in Zillertal and was in the starting eleven against Lecce, Sheffield Wednesday and Coventry. In February 2023, Salifou was even substituted for a minute against Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. Gorenzel did not mention any names, saying: "We're on the home straight, it's about the financial side of things."