The GAK has had a rather turbulent summer break.
With the top transfer of Michael Liendl, Graz caused a stir in the Admiral 2nd league, but with other additions such as Atsushi Zaizen, Levan Eloshvili or Thorsten Schriebl, the traditional club proves that they can be counted on in the coming season.
Sports Director Dieter Elsneg speaks in the interview LAOLA1 about the squad planning, the pressure from the traditional club, the difficult program at the start of the season and the long-awaited return of the Graz Derby.
LAOLA1: How has the preparation gone for you so far?
Dieter Elsneg: A lot has happened in the team, of course you notice at some moments that not everything is a matter of course. But all in all we’re really very satisfied, with every test match you can see that the team is growing closer together. As sporting director, I am of course also very satisfied with the squad, we have strengthened ourselves in all positions in terms of quality and breadth. With Michi Liendl we were of course also able to land a very special caliber.
A 17-year-old Michael Liendl in a GAK jersey
Photo: © GEPA
LAOLA1: You’ve already mentioned Michael Liendl, he’s a huge name for the second division, what are your impressions after the first few weeks with him?
Elsneg: Of course, you can see the quality of Michi right from the start, both in terms of football and character. He always comes up with good solutions in situations, even if you as a teammate or as an outsider would believe that there is no satisfactory solution. I was able to get a good picture of his character in the many conversations we had with him, we are getting a very positive guy. At the end of his career he wants to prove himself again and it’s all the nicer that he’s coming back to his youth club to help us create something together.
LAOLA1: A few weeks ago, Michael Liendl said in an interview with the “Kleine Zeitung” that he is someone who likes to address things directly. Does the GAK perhaps need just such a guy?
Elsneg: I actually think that’s very important. In football, with the many players who come from academies, things are moving in a direction where everyone thinks very similarly and reacts very similarly to certain situations. So it’s really good when there’s someone who’s still a bit “old school” and doesn’t shy away from voicing their opinion. Of course, respect is always very important and hierarchies should always be observed. All in all, with Michi we get a player who knows how football works, who has been in many clubs and has always impressed at his stations. We expect the same from him and hope that he will help us as much as possible with his style as a club.
LAOLA1: Liendl is perhaps the most resonant name among your new signings, but with Atsushi Zaizen, Levan Eloshvili and Thorsten Schriebl you also have some very strong second division players who have come to you. How are the preparations going for them?
–Atsushi Zaizen eluded many defenders at Innsbruck
Photo: © GEPA
Elsneg: Of course, it will still take a while for Atsushi after his cruciate ligament tear, but we’re currently hoping that he can play in September or October. But we want to be patient and we also suggest that he be patient because we don’t want to rush anything. He proved in Innsbruck what potential he has. He probably wouldn’t be with us either if he hadn’t had the serious injury, to be honest. But we’re really looking forward to him, he’s a two-footed attacking player who can be used in a variety of ways. He is also absolutely great in terms of character, speaks perfect German and has already fitted in perfectly with the dressing room. But also the other newcomers, regardless of whether it’s an Eloshvili or Thorsten, or even the young guard like Somnitz or Jager, they’ve all settled in really well.
LAOLA1: You’re already talking to Maximilian Somnitz, who came to you from Union Berlin, how did you find out about him?
Elsneg: To be honest it was a coincidence. Union Berlin did a tour of Austria with their U19s and they also stopped in Graz where they played one game. We talked straight away afterwards and kept in touch with his manager in the weeks that followed. It was exactly the profile we were looking for – a young player who doesn’t start from scratch but has a very good education. He is particularly familiar with the rhombus, which Union promotes in youth football, which is very similar to our system. It’s a win-win situation that we’ve got such a young, promising player with a great character who is already ready to play.
LAOLA1: Do you get advice from a player like that? Union Berlin finished last season in fifth place in the German Bundesliga and were just a point away from the Champions League.
Elsneg: The fact that he now gets involved and says “that’s how it works at Union Berlin”, it’s not like that. He is a very young player at 19 who still has to settle in at a new club. Football in Germany hasn’t been reinvented, but the level of professionalism at Union Berlin is of course different.
LAOLA1: What is the goal for the season with this ambitious squad? Many of the other coaches see Blau-Weiss Linz right at the top, but then often name GAK directly as the next candidate, what is your perception of that?
“I know that every player, every fan, every employee in the club is looking forward to this game. It’s just hanging in the air and everyone in town realizes when the derby is coming up, you just really want to win a game like that, too if it’s just a ‘little derby’.”
Elsneg: The pressure is always there at a club as big as GAK. We moved up from the regional league to the second division three years ago and we had our problems at the beginning. Then the club progressed from amateur to professional status and we’ve established ourselves quite well over the past two seasons. But it has to be said that we were hoping for a bit more from last season than getting the same number of points again. Even the seventh place in the table was not so satisfactory. Accordingly, I don’t think we can say that we are the number one contender for promotion. Like most people, I see it that Blau-Weiss Linz is the most advanced, also in terms of sporting development and how they played last year. Of course we want to take the next step in the table, we’re hoping for a place between three and five.
LAOLA1: Looking back at last season, the lack of consistency is striking. In the second half of the season there were never two wins in a row for GAK, is there a reason for that or was it just a bug, to put it bluntly?
Elsneg: It would be too easy to just talk yourself out of it now that the worm was in there. We analyzed this seriously and came to the conclusion that it is due to many factors. In the last six months we wanted to get a new playing system with the new coaching team, which statistically has already improved slightly. We put in great performances, especially in the last ten games in spring. Unfortunately, we never managed to maintain the intensity for the full 90 minutes and slumped too often in the last 20 minutes. That’s exactly why we’ve expanded the squad in such a way that we can still substitute quality players in these important moments. That’s exactly our goal now: We want to show that we’re a strong team over several games and always over the 90 minutes. Then we can go into the next games with a broad chest after one or more victories and confidently say “we’ll do it now and win again”. That’s easy to say now, of course, but that’s exactly where we want to go.
LAOLA1: You say yourself that your team hasn’t found itself 100 percent yet, your opening program is quite tough with FAC, Admira, Liefering and Blau-Weiss Linz, what do you expect from these games?
Elsneg: We have to look from game to game. Of course we can see that the first five games will be tough, with the teams mentioned then Steyr playing away, which is always a very tough game. Basically it makes no difference whether we play against Horn or Linz, there are no easy games. I actually see the program very positively. The team has to be there from day one and then maybe gain a few extra percentage points mentally, because you know there’s a lot at stake against FAC on the first Saturday.
LAOLA1: So far there have already been two Styrian derbies against Lafnitz and Kapfenberg, and this season the Graz derby against Sturm II is another real hit in Styria. Will this be the highlight of the season, especially from a fan perspective, or do you take it easy and look at it like any other game?
Elsneg: We would be lying if we said it’s like any other game. It always brings a certain explosiveness, even if it’s just the second team of Sturm Graz. It will definitely be the game with the most spectators, especially if we are the organizers. Of course we haven’t talked about the game yet, but I know that every player, every fan, every employee at the club is looking forward to this game. It just hangs in the air and everyone in town notices when the derby is coming up, you really want to win a game like that, even if it’s just a “small derby”.
LAOLA1: In an interview with LAOLA1, your trainer Gernot Messner said six months ago that he once promised WAC President Dietmar Riegler that he would like to become a WAC trainer at some point. What does the GAK sports director say about such plans?
Elsneg: To be honest, I didn’t think too much about it. We are very satisfied with our coaching team. He works great with the team and the supervisors, I also have a very good relationship with him. In any case, I’m glad that we chose Gernot, it was a courageous decision back then. He proves it every day with his meticulous work. If his dream ever comes true, I would be happy for him personally. That would also mean that he has managed to become a Bundesliga coach, but of course I hope that he will stay with us for a long time. Maybe he would now answer a question like that differently, he has settled in really well with us and obviously feels very comfortable with us.
Text source: © LAOLA1.at
User comments do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the LAOLA1 editorial team. LAOLA1 reserves the right to delete comments without giving reasons, especially if they violate criminal or civil law standards, are contrary to good morals or otherwise run counter to the reputation of LAOLA1. We refer in this context in particular to our Terms of Use. In such cases, the user cannot assert any claims. Furthermore, Sportradar Media Services GmbH reserves the right to assert claims for damages and to report criminally relevant facts.
– –
