Austria in CL stress

Austria Klagenfurt also under Champions League stress

Covered with a tarpaulin - "28BLACK Arena" is not allowed to appear. Read the article to find out why.

(Bild: Pessentheiner/f. pessentheiner)

Champions League in Klagenfurt! And: Austria Klagenfurt is also under a lot of stress. Here are the first pictures of the "Champions League" branding from the Wörthersee Stadium. And: Austria sporting director Günther Gorenzel talks about the great start to the Bundesliga after the 1:0 triumph at GAK. Robatsch, scorer of the winning goal, is on call-up to the U21 team for the first time and still lives with his parents. Salifou was called up to the national team again - as were several other Carinthian U21 boys.

Violet super start to the Bundesliga! Austria Klagenfurt have never been in such a good position after seven games: with a proud eleven points to their name, they even have one more than at this point last year. And even three more than in 2022/23 and 2021/22! As we all know, we always finished in the top 6 in the first three years of the top division.

As things stand, we are more effective when you look at how much money we have available and what we are doing with it.

Günther GORENZEL, Geschäftsführer Austria Klagenfurt

Head of sport Günther Gorenzel is naturally pleased: "We are now more effective when you look at how much money we have at our disposal and what we are doing with it. But it's still too early to judge the season!" Coach Peter Pacult also wants to keep his head down: "The number of points is nice due to the serious departures. Nevertheless, I don't understand why we write about the top 6 on our homepage. . ."

"Golden" teenager with debut goal
In the 1:0 win at GAK - where coach Gernot Messner is now under pressure - the 19-year-old golden goal scorer Jannik Robatsch certainly stood out. The 1:0 scored by the "teenager" - who has just completed his military service and still lives with his parents in Velden - was also the golden goal for the "treble"!

Gold goal scorer Jannik Robatsch

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

"It's about time I helped the team," grinned Robatsch after his 20th Bundesliga game and remained self-critical. "I conceded a goal in the 2:2 draw against Hartberg last week - now I've been able to make up for it. It's a great feeling!" emphasized Robatsch, whose great role model is Manchester City's Ruben Dias.

"He still has a learning process to go through"
Gorenzel attests to his talent: "He has huge potential and a great future ahead of him. But only if he is even more determined and is 100 per cent present from the start - he still has to go through this learning process as a defender!" emphasizes Gorenzel, whose protégé is on call up to the U21 team for the first time.

Several Carinthians have also been called up to the Austrian U21 national team: With Thierno Ballo, Nikolas Polster, Angelo Gattermayer and Ervin Omic, four WAC players are in the squad of the U21 national team for the European Championship qualifier against Slovenia on October 11 in Wiener Neustadt. Austria Klagenfurt goalkeeper Simon Spari and Niki Veratschnig (Mainz) from Feldkirch are also included.

Togo calls Salifou 
Also top: Klagenfurt loanee Dikeni Salifou has been called up to the Togo national team again.

Stadionsponsor abgedeckt

Pepsi hat die Namensrechte

In any case, the Champions League will be played at the Wörthersee Stadium on Wednesday - Sturm will host Brugge. And that also means stress for Austria Klagenfurt. The advertising banners on the upper tier and the sponsors all had to be painstakingly dismantled for UEFA, and Pacult's team will be moving back into the smaller, unloved changing room.
This is how the arena currently looks - some UEFA sponsors and Champions League banners have already been put up. 

Competition for Pepsi 
And even more curious: even the huge letters "28BLACK Arena" on the west side had to be covered up. Because "Pepsi" is the official UEFA partner of the "premier class" - and therefore doesn't like to see a second drinks manufacturer, so it can't appear at all!