Youth League

Sturm’s foals have already made history

Young star Leon Grgic was missing from the last clash against Lok Zagreb - today he is set to fire Sturm to promotion.

(Bild: ERWIN SCHERIAU)

Sturm's foals want to continue their wave of success today (3.30pm) in the last 16 of the Youth League. But Olympiakos Piraeus, the defending champions of all teams, are standing in their way. But regardless of today's match, the club can already pat itself on the back. 

Sturm's journey in the Youth League began with a furious 4:1 victory against Stade Brest in France on September 19. This was followed in the group stage by a 1:1 against Club Brugge, a 1:3 against Sporting Lisbon, a 3:2 win in Dortmund, a 0:0 against Girona and a 1:1 in Lille. In the first knockout round, the Black Foals eliminated Lok Zagreb 5:3 on the road after a penalty shoot-out.

Today (live on Sky Sport Austria), the Sturm youngsters will be looking to make their mark in Europe. However, none other than defending champions Olympiakos Piraeus await in Liebenau in the round of 16. The Greeks are taking the "Steirerbuam" seriously, they have been staying under the clock tower since Monday, training at the GAK training center.

"They have big, robust defenders. They will make it difficult for us to get through. Another strength of the Greeks is their possession game," says Christoph Wurm, who is already the third coach for the Youth League team after Jürgen Säumel and Thomas Hösele. The young stars are already looking forward to the game, as it will be their first real home game after their performances in Carinthia.

4500 tickets sold
And in front of a tingling atmosphere to boot. Around 4500 tickets were already sold yesterday, and the north curve is also open today. The hardcore fans want to whip the foals into the quarter-finals! Wurm: "The fact that we are allowed to enter the Merkur Arena for the first time and that so many fans are behind us should give us a tailwind and make it possible to bring all the energy we have onto the pitch."

A tough task awaits Sturm coach Christoph Wurm (left) with defending champions Olympiakos Piraeus.

(Bild: GEPA)

Regardless of how the match against Olympiakos ends, Sturm can already give themselves a pat on the back. With Luca Weinhandl and Jonas Peinhart, two exceptional 15-year-old talents even celebrated their debut in the premier class of the stars of tomorrow. "No 2009 age group has played anywhere in Europe," says academy manager Didi Pegam proudly, emphasizing: "There have always been eight to nine players from our academy in the starting line-ups of our Youth League team. That's an award and proof of our good work with young talent!"