Feyenoord defender

Rested for Salzburg game: Trauner is ready

Gernot Trauner is the defender for the important games at Feyenoord.

(Bild: GEPA)

Only played six out of a possible 15 competitive matches, but very important for the team: Gernot Trauner is still held in high regard despite losing his captaincy at Feyenoord Rotterdam. As regular appearances in English weeks are not physically possible, the 32-year-old Upper Austrian is repeatedly rested in order to be ready for the really important games. This includes the home clash with Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday (9pm/live in the sportkrone.at ticker).

The Dutch runners-up will be aiming for their third win in four games. In contrast to the "Bulls", who have no points, the 16th-placed team is on course for the knockout phase. Trauner has always been involved in the "premier class". In the opening 0:4 against Bayer Leverkusen (until the 72nd minute) and most recently on October 23rd in the 3:1 at Benfica Lisbon as an important pillar. Only in the 3-2 win at Girona, where he played 19 minutes, was he not in the starting eleven.

"The very first day he was on the training pitch, I saw how mature and experienced he is. He is a very good passer. He can also play the ball between the lines. As a coach, that's what you want to see from your central defender. He also knows how to defend, is very disciplined and organized. He's definitely here to play and help us," said Feyenoord coach Brian Priske on the sidelines of the clash with Benfica.

"We have to be careful with him"
The 47-year-old took over as coach from Arne Slot in the summer. Shortly before that, Trauner had suffered a thigh injury in the ÖFB team's second EURO group game against Poland on June 21 in Berlin, which set him back in preparation and is still lingering. "We have to be careful with him. He has a serious injury behind him. We want to take good care of him so that he is fit during this intensive period," explained Priske. He himself would like to see Trauner, who is tied to the club until the end of June 2026, "play 90 minutes more often".

Gernot Trauner

(Bild: AFP/AXEL HEIMKEN)

The fact is that Trauner had recurring injury problems after his debut season in a Dutch kit in 2021/22. While he played a total of 31 out of 48 competitive matches in 2022/23, he only played 27 out of 48 in 2023/24. This downward trend could continue. He played three times in eleven games in the championship this year. That was the case over 90 minutes in Wednesday's 2-0 loss in the league classic against Ajax Amsterdam.

However, the 1.83-meter man was once again relegated to the reserve role in Saturday's CL dress rehearsal, a 3:2 home win against Alkmaar in the Eredivisie. The Dutch media also wrote that they did not want to take any risks with regard to the Salzburg game.

Trauner: "Salzburg must win"
"Salzburg must win in any case. We also have to get the points in these games," said Trauner after the recent international double. "We have our fans behind us, so it's always difficult for our opponents to win. But you can't rely on that, we have to show good soccer." Trauner himself also showed this in his starting eleven appearances in ÖFB kit in the 4-0 win over Kazakhstan (October 10) and 5-1 win over Norway (October 13) in Linz, having previously missed the start of the Nations League due to injury.

"When I think that Gernot Trauner has only played once from the start for Feyenoord since the EURO and then delivers a performance like that twice, you can only take your hat off," said ÖFB team boss Ralf Rangnick at the time. Although he only has 15 caps to his name, he has now also found a not insignificant role in the ÖFB A team.