Blue & White sporting director

“I’m not a fan of exit clauses!”

Extended until 2028: Christoph Schößwendter

(Bild: BW Linz)

After managing director Christoph Peschek, sporting director Christoph Schößwendter has now also extended his contract at BW Linz until 2028. In this interview, the 36-year-old talks about his plans with Blau-Weiß, his transfers and the contracts of coach Scheiblehner and star Ronivaldo, which expire at the end of the season.

"Krone": How long did you negotiate with manager Peschek before signing until 2028?
BW-Linz head of sport Christoph Schößwendter: It was a tough, intensive discussion, but always very fair. And it was more about other topics than the contract.

For example, in which direction you want to develop Blau-Weiß in sporting terms by 2028!
We want to establish ourselves and position ourselves in such a way that we are so solid that we can go into a season without fear of relegation.

What do you want to see on the pitch?
Active, intense soccer: lots of vertical, fast forwards. Stress, energy, duels! That's what led us to the title in the second division. Last season we had to adapt, now we're finding our way back more and more. Another goal is to score more points against opponents at eye level.

You've only been Head of Sport since 2023. What was the biggest learning effect and what grade would you give yourself for the transfers this year?
That time is a very important factor in transfers! I don't want to give myself a grade, but some things were right - you can see that in the sporting development: we have more quality and a broader base, even though we can't yet pay transfer fees.

Negotiations are now underway with coach Gerald Scheiblehner

(Bild: GEPA)

Could you have guessed that defender Silvan Wallner, who suddenly ended his career recently, could have had faith problems?
No, you can't have that on your radar, it was never an issue in his career. The extent of Wähling's injury was also unforeseeable.

Coach Gerald Scheiblehner has now been refused permission to play for Grasshopper Club Zürick. Would you do the same in the winter if offers came in from abroad or from Sturm?
We know that he has all the necessary skills to get the most out of it! If I can choose, he'll stay until the end of the season and beyond. We know that things often turn out differently in soccer. But we want to extend his contract as quickly as possible! But we are only Blau-Weiß Linz and have certain framework conditions.

Blau-Weiß want to extend with star striker Ronivaldo

(Bild: GEPA)

Would you allow him to have an exit clause in his new contract?
I'm generally not a fan of this, whether it's for players or coaches. From the club's point of view, it reduces planning security. It's clear that it's not always feasible.

Star striker Ronivaldo's contract also expires in 2025...
We only extended his contract for one year in 2023 because he's no longer the youngest. When I see today how much he invests, how fit he is, we don't need to talk long about what we want.

Andreas Ulmer is to dock at Sunday's opponents GAK. You also met him in the summer...
Not just once! But he probably wasn't really ready at the time and didn't know exactly what he wanted.