Start of the second division

The spectre of relegation? The four Styrian clubs in the check

Kapfenberg and Sturm II are currently separated by just four points

(Bild: GEPA)

The second division kicks off the soccer spring on Friday! This year's promotion race will probably not involve Styria. Nevertheless, the four "Kernöl clubs" have big plans.

Kapfenberg have landed a Bundesliga routine with Michi Lang (GAK), Sturm II are attacking with their "Youth League fighters" under neo-coach Wurm, Voitsberg have switched to professional football and Lafnitz have their sights set on staying in the league under coach Van Lierop.

The current standings of the second division and the upcoming matches can be found here:(fixture list and table >>). The "Krone" took a close look at all four Styrian clubs.

KSV prepared for the spring against GAK, among others

(Bild: GEPA)

KAPFENBERGER SV
The new players: The "Falken" have strengthened their squad with three players (Lang, Maier, Omic). And all three know Kapfenberg very well from previous times. The best-known name is certainly Michael Lang, who made a big impression at GAK in the autumn with his dream goal against Salzburg, but then fell out of favor for several reasons (suspension, curious own goal, yellow-red in just ten seconds). "Michi is exactly what we had in mind: He plays in a very team-oriented manner and has taken on responsibility in our young team straight away. That's good for them," says coach Ismail Atalan.

The preparation: The games against Admira (0:2), Gloggnitz (2:1), Marchfeld (1:2), GAK (1:4) and Medulin (2:0) left him rather cold. "I don't pay any attention to the results. It's more about how we solve situations and keeping everyone fit."

The start: Another important point was stabilizing his own game. Because the first game is against FAC. "A brutally difficult opponent with a lot of experience. It's especially tough away from home," says Atalan, who also demands: "We want to take the next step."

The forecast: Kapfenberg should have nothing to do with the relegation battle. "But you never know in soccer," warns Atalan. "We need to become more consistent, we let games slip away too often."

Sturm II are in mid-table

(Bild: GEPA)

STURM II
The newcomers : Former St. Pölten academy manager Christoph Wurm, who has experience of the Austrian Football Association, was installed as the new coach. Playmaker Jonas Karner returned on loan from Hartberg (after the departures of Sarkaria and Ilic). Moroccan defender Smail Bakhty (18, Rabat) and midfielder Thomas Gurmann (Krems) were joined by Angolan striker Daniel Sumbu (18) from Bielefeld as the "king transfer" with professional prospects.

The preparation: There was a wide range of tests around the camp in Catez (Slo): 0:1 against Weiz, 4:0 against Gleisdorf, 2:3 against Rukh Lviv, 1:1 against Rudes, 1:0 against Mannsdorf. The highlight was the Youth League clash at Lok Zagreb, which was won on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

The Youth League fighters willkick off their campaign in Gleisdorf on Saturday, as league revenge for the 2:4 defeat at Rapid II in the fall, in which Leon Grgic and Nikolaus Wurmbrand, who had switched to the pros, scored the goals. While Sturm will face Olympiakos Piraeus at home in the Youth League round of 16 (5.3.), Rapid are already out of contention after losing 2-1 to Atlético Madrid.

Coach Christoph Wurm'sprognosis : "We want to build up successors to Grgic and Malic for the pros in the spring and always offer high intensity in the games."

Zaizen (center) moved from GAK to Voitsberg

(Bild: GEPA)

ASK VOITSBERG
The newcomers: The promoted team is starting the spring with eight new players. Among them are Zaizen (GAK), Parger (Helfort), Forst (WSG Tirol), Stückler and Stumberger (both without a club), five players who have already had a taste of first division football. "Fortunately, it wasn't too difficult to integrate the new players because we knew beforehand that they all had top character," says coach David Preiß. "We have increased the quality and therefore also the competition. Exactly what we had in mind."

The preparation: There were ups and downs, with victories against Andijan (2:1), Sileks Kratovo (3:0) and DSC (4:0) and defeats against GAK (0:4) and Resita (0:4). Preiß: "I don't really care about results in preparation. It's more important to try out tactical things and how they are implemented."

The opener: Bregenz await, against whom things went wrong in a narrow 2-1 away draw. "Hopefully we can return the favor. At the end of the fall, we saw that we can now cope well with the intensity and dominate games. We want to continue that in the spring," says Preiß.

Preiß doesn't want to make anypredictions - the goal is clearly to stay in the league: "We want to perform right from the start and not get stuck at the back, where we then have to fight our way out."

SV Lafnitz must play against relegation

(Bild: GEPA)

SV LAFNITZ
The new players: 27-year-old former St. Pölten player Mehdi Hetemaj, who has gained a lot of experience abroad in Albania, Malta and Finland (most recently with Palloseura), strengthens the defense. Sports director Percy Van Lierop replaces Saban Uzun (who is attending the DFB Pro License course) as head coach. "In our situation as third bottom, it's important that the head coach is at training every day," says Van Lierop. Uzun will remain Van Lierop's right-hand man until the planned "swap back" in the summer.

The preparation was promising: 3:0 against St. Anna, 7:1 against Oberwart, 1:2 against Bundesliga club Klagenfurt, 5:0 against FavAC, 1:1 against Weiz - "we feel ready," says Van Lierop. "Our foreign players have now acclimatized themselves in sporting and cultural terms, the young players have six months behind them, have matured and the competition is greater. Now it's all down to us."

The prelude: In the duel between the "young lions", Lafnitz have only managed one point against Liefering in the last ten duels, and in the fall it was extremely close at home in a 4:5 draw. "No game in this league is easy," said Van Lierop ahead of the match in Salzburg, "but we believe in ourselves!"

The forecast: "We're doing everything we can to stay in the league in the spring so that we can offer future generations of players a platform."