Sturm Graz defends the championship title: thrills until the last minute!

Sturm Graz defends the championship title: thrills until the last minute!

Graz, Österreich - On May 24, 2025, Sturm Graz once again crowned the Austrian champion in the Admiral Bundesliga. In an exciting final of the 32nd round, the Grazers separated 1-1 by Wolfsberger AC, which secured the title. The encounter started behavior, but the hosts soon showed more offensive urge. In the 4th minute, Kiteishvili achieved the first degree, but missed the goal. The WAC acted defensively and relied on a quick counterattack. Grgic ensured a good end in the 25th minute that WAC goalkeeper could parry up.

Sturm Graz was clearly dominant in the course of the game and approached the lead goal. Shortly before the half -time whistle, Böving scored 1-0 in the 45th+1 minute, his eleventh season goal. After the break, however, the WAC showed a stronger performance. In the 69th minute, Ballo equalized after a pass from Zukic. The WAC was on the trigger in the final phase, but Sturm Graz held the pressure and ultimately celebrated the championship.

conversion and changes in Sturm Graz

While previous sporting successes have been celebrated, there are also significant changes in Sturm Graz. Andreas Schicker, the sports director, leaves the club and moves to Hoffenheim. His departure ensures that double trainer Christian Ilzer and his team will also follow at short notice. Paul Pajduch becomes Schicker's successor and takes over the sporting management. Tormann Kjell Scherpen is currently leaving the club, while William Böving and Tochi Chukwuani have aroused the interest of other clubs.

Jürgen Saumel was introduced as a new trainer and brings assistant coach Michael Madl. Saumel emphasizes that the game orientation will not change significantly despite the change of coach. Otar Kiteishvili is once again honored as a Bundesliga player for his outstanding achievements, and the experienced veterans like Jon Gorenc-Stanz-Stankovic and Gregory Wüthrich are shown as leaders in the team.

The history of the Austrian Bundesliga

The Austrian Bundesliga looks back on an eventful story. The league was founded in 1949 with ten clubs from Vienna. Over the years there have been ups and downs in which teams from cities such as Graz and Salzburg take the top function. RB Salzburg has dominated the league in recent years. The league has reformed several times to increase the attractiveness, most recently in 2016 when a division into master and qualification groups was introduced.

Overall, the Bundesliga is still one of the most successful Ligen Europe. International talents and successful players have their origins in this league, which underlines the importance of Austrian football. The current developments at Sturm Graz show that the association wants to continuously develop and plans to bring the Liebenau stadium to Champions League level while a new performance center in Puntigam is being created at the same time.