"It's about to be said..."

Trouble at LASK? Captain Zulj contradicts Schopp

Thick air between LASK coach Markus Schopp (left) and captain Robert Zulj.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

After the sporting crisis, is LASK now also facing a player-coach dispute? After the disappointing European Cup exit, Robert Zulj and Markus Schopp have different opinions.

The background to this is Schopp's recently repeated criticism that there are a lot of individualists on the pitch and that LASK are not playing as a team. Words that did not go down well with the Linz captain. "I don't know what the coach meant by that. I can only say that we've had the core of the team together for two and a half years. We finished third in Austria twice and played very well in the Europa League last year. Now we have a weak phase and people immediately say that the team is not intact or that there are too many individualists. I don't see it that way, I have to be honest," said Zulj after the 1:1 draw against Vikingur Reykjavik.

However, Schopp took a positive view of Zulj's clear criticism of his statements. "It's very important that we have players who present themselves clearly to the outside world and show a face. We have to shape these personalities, which we undoubtedly have in the squad, into a team," said the Styrian.

"There is a certain emptiness"
The 1:1 home draw against Reykjavik marked the end of a disappointing Conference League season for LASK in 35th place. Only Petrocub from the Republic of Moldova fared worse with two points. "We played too inconsistently internationally," said Zulj. "If we were in top form, we would win very easily against this opponent." However, there is a lot missing from top form at the moment. "Every player can look themselves in the mirror and know that the last few weeks haven't been good. There's a certain emptiness now, because unfortunately there have often been negative experiences. Now it's time to start the preparation with momentum. We need to get some distance, spend time with the family. We have a lot to make up for."

Schopp analyzed: "We set out to say goodbye with a win. We didn't quite manage that. Given the situation, I saw a team that did everything they could to get three points. We have to create a lot more chances. There are one or two things you can take away as positives. We had an extremely tense situation due to injuries. We didn't have more players available today. I've pushed extremely hard over the last few weeks and that came to a head in the end. Now we have to start analyzing the situation. The boys are going into the break, but we have to be very clear about where we want to go from day one of preparation."