Lustenau column

That makes little sense in sporting no man’s land

Robin Voisine and his team from Lustenau slipped up far too often in the fall.

(Bild: EXPA Picture/EXPA Pictures. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. // EXPA Pictures. All rigths reserved.)

"Krone Vorarlberg" Austria Lustenau expert Dietmar Hofer takes a close look at the Green-Whites' disastrous fall season and doesn't shy away from being harsh on the players. He also dares to look ahead to the spring season.

Things couldn't have got much worse for Lustenau in sporting terms. After being relegated from the Bundesliga, things have continued to go downhill in recent weeks and months. Just three wins and tenth place are not the standard set by the club and its fans. In the last home game against Stripfing, no more than a thousand fans came to Bregenz.

Spring will show whether coach Martin Brenner, who was sacked one game before the winter break, was the main culprit behind this misery or whether the squad as a whole is too weak to have a say in the second division. Brenner, who arrived with high hopes, failed to give the team a face. In the end, his team looked anemic.

Fourteen new players were brought in before the start of the season, but so far only a few have made an impact. The Brazilian William, who came from FC Dornbirn and was the most important stabilizing factor in defence, proved to be the most reliable. Seydou Diarra, Robin Voisine and, most recently, Nathan Falconnier have also provided positive accents from time to time. The rest of the eleven legionnaires disappointed or were (permanently) injured. This must be questioned and analyzed over the winter. The established players such as Pius Grabher, Nico Gorzel and Leo Mikic delivered average performances at best. That is not enough. There is no driving force in midfield. The "problem area" attack could not be solved in the fall either. Lustenau scored the fewest goals in the league. Hopeful Namory Cisse was at the bottom of Brenner's list, and Mikic also received a public "thrashing".

Markus Mader and his co-star Martin Schneider are back at Austria.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Hope rests on Markus Mader
There will be no major new signings in the winter. That would also make little sense in view of the team's position in the table. Instead, hopes are pinned on returnee Markus Mader. He now has time until the summer to find out the real potential. So that Austria is ready for the coming season.