After two championship defeats in a row, Rapid has written fully once more in the Bundesliga. With the 3-1 home win over Austria Klagenfurt on Sunday, Hütteldorfer improved to fourth place and are now one point ahead of Vienna Austria, who will be visiting the Allianz Stadium in the next round. However, the green-whites kept their coaches on edge – because numerous chances were missed, success was in danger until shortly before the end.
Afterwards, Zoran Barisic moaned: “We might have made life easier for ourselves.” His team took an early lead thanks to Guido Burgstaller, conceded the equalizer following an hour through Sebastian Soto and might only breathe a sigh of relief following goals from Oliver Strunz (70′) and Nicolas Kühn (94′). “We have a team that can always come back, that’s what sets them apart. But it’s also characterized by the fact that they absolutely want to make my life difficult – unfortunately,” said Barisic.
The usury of chances before the break made the 52-year-old ponder. “I was worried and worried in the first half.” Barisic’s concerns were confirmed by the Soto goal but confidence quickly returned. “Strangely, my worries were less following the equalizer and our substitutions, for whatever reason,” said the coach.
Newcomers to the game included Kühn and Ferdy Druijf – the latter unselfishly provided the template for the 3-1 for the German on his comeback following an injury break of several months. “The last goal was exemplary. As a coach, I’m incredibly happy that we’re not stubborn, but a collective,” explained Barisic, emphasizing that the jokers all brought “new energy”.
Almost the entire squad is available to the ex-sports director following overcoming many injuries. This in turn meant that kickers like Bernhard Zimmermann, Christoph Knasmüllner, Dejan Petrovic and Kevin Wimmer didn’t even make it into the squad. “I mightn’t nominate very good players, that hurts me a lot as a coach,” admitted Barisic. “It’s great when everyone is healthy, on the other hand there are always decisions that hurt one or the other.” In this context, the coach emphasized: “The players I have to disappoint are also an important part of our team.”
Strunz doesn’t have to worry regarding a place in the squad at the moment, the 22-year-old is considered a climber in the spring season. “But he still has a lot to do. He should stay down to earth, turn off his cell phone, not read newspapers and best of all say goodbye to social media. He shouldn’t read forums, not read the adulation regarding his person, but on them Value criticism from his coach so that he becomes an even better player,” said Barisic, adding: “He can become a really good player.”
