WAC fights for championship titles: Kühbauer announces anniversary run!

WAC fights for championship titles: Kühbauer announces anniversary run!

In the exciting duel for the Austrian championship title, which has been combining the teams from Sturm Graz, Austria Vienna and the WAC in the last round for the first time since 2011, the WAC has the hardest conditions. In a critical Situation, the team of coach Kühbauer not only has to defeat Sturm Graz, but also hope for a defeat from Austria Vienna against Blau-Weiß Linz in order to still have chances for the title. According to the Kleine Zeitung is heavily replaced. Defense chief Dominik Baumgartner fails due to a ribbon tear in the ankle, while defensive routine Simon Piesinger is also not available due to breaks on the face. Adis Jasic and Alessandro Schöpf are not fit either.

Trainer Kühbauer nevertheless emphasized that the WAC wants to "knock everything out again" in order to successfully end the season. In the previous season, the Carinthians were able to collect seven points in the three duels against Sturm Graz. Despite the personnel setbacks, Kühbauer was recently elected Bundesliga coach of the season.

combat situation in the table

The situation in the Bundesliga is tense. Austria Vienna recently secured a narrow 1-0 win against Sturm Graz in the Merkur Arena in front of 15,352 spectators. Prelec scored the decisive goal in the 80th minute, which leads Austria to the table after 28 match days. It is remarkable that Austria stays undefeated against Sturm Graz this season and has the defending champion behind due to a better direct comparison. The WAC is currently three points behind Austria, while Salzburg is four points ago, as the Kicker

In the heated duel between Sturm and Austria, referee Sebastian Gishamer showed a total of three red cards. These included Böving (Sturm) in the 28th minute, grgic (storm) in the 66th minute and Ranftl (Austria) in the 89th minute, all of which were punished for foul games. After the game there was a pack formation on the pitch, which underlined the passionate emotions of the game.

historical context

The current championship is considered in the shadow of the dominance of FC Red Bull Salzburg, which has been mastered continuously in the past ten years, most recently in the 2022/23 season. The record championship goes to Rapid Vienna with 32 titles, followed by Austria Wien with 24 titles and Salzburg with 17 championships, according to the statistics of Laola1 . In the Bundesliga, since its introduction in 1974, Salzburg has dominated the league and it remains to be seen whether another club, like the WAC, can tear the title this season.