Bizarre video

Curious! Regional league team only trains with headlamps

Coach Mario Verdel had his Ferlach players train in the dark with headlamps.

(Bild: ZVG, Sobe)

Only second last, eight out of 13 games lost this season - that's why ATUS Ferlach is reaching deep into its bag of tricks in the Carinthian league. Coach Mario Verdel did not even ask his squad to train last week. And this week, they played in the dark with headlamps. These are the reasons for these curious methods:

This has probably never happened before! ATUS Ferlach are digging deep into their bag of tricks in the relegation battle - and are using curious, perhaps even innovative methods!

Because they are only second last and even bottom of the home table, coach Mario Verdel wanted to create new stimuli. Last week, he therefore only allowed training on Monday and gave the remaining days off - an absolute novelty in the middle of the season in the fourth-highest division.

"The players were empty in their heads. If you go in with the expectation of playing up front and then find yourself at the back, it does something to you," explained Verdel. However, the drastic action didn't help - they lost 4-1 in Spittal last weekend.

Floodlights switched off
And so the 41-year-old coach pulled out trick number two: This week, the floodlights were always switched off during the sessions - and the players were only allowed to train with headlamps! "The boys are supposed to understand each other blindly and are also forced to play flat due to the lighting conditions. Because in Spittal we only hit the balls high!"

Idea from Russia's ice hockey team
Verdel copied this curious idea from the Russian ice hockey team: "They did it 30 years ago without any lights at all, I recently saw a documentary about it. My players enjoyed it - that was important!"

Retrofitting in winter
In order to put an end to the current misery, Ferlach also wants to upgrade in winter. "Some of the lads are no longer as hungry as usual. We're negotiating with three or four players," says Verdel, whose team wants to be back on top of their game at home against SAK on Saturday.

Visiting coach praises leaders
In the top match of the round, leaders Velden welcome Spittal on Saturday. Visiting coach Philipp Dabringer emphasizes: "First place in the league is gone. You can certainly beat Velden on a single day, but over the season as a whole, they simply have the best team." Spittal are therefore prioritizing the KFV Cup, in which they will face ATUS Ferlach in the quarter-finals in March 2025.

• Carinthian League: 15th round. Saturday: Velden - Spittal (14, Gadler), Bleiburg - KAC 1909 (14, Har-tenberger), ATUS Ferlach - SAK (14, Th. Wieser), Donau - St. Jakob/Ros. (15, Manfred Krassnitzer), Lendorf - Völkermarkt (17, Garanovic). Sunday: Austria Klagenfurt Amateurs - ATSV Wolfsberg (Sportpark, artificial turf, 11), Köttmannsdorf - SC St. Veit (13, Kulterer). No match: Dellach/G.