As a player, Markus Schopp has been on the ball 42 times in the European Cup, and as a coach he has played in one match so far: In 2020, the promoted team was determined in one game in the second qualifying round of the Europa League due to Corona, and with Hartberg he lost 2-3 at Piast Gliwice. On Thursday, the 50-year-old will experience his home debut as LASK coach in the European Cup against Djurgarden (9 p.m., Servus TV).
“Games at international level were always the greatest opportunity for me as a player to orientate myself upwards,” said Schopp, “to get a feeling where there might be differences, where you might feel like you are already very far, but still your recognizes boundaries. Just the opportunity to compete with teams like this creates a development.” Thomas Lagerlöf, one half of the Djurgarden coaching duo, saw this as “a clear upward trend can be seen” at LASK. In qualifying, Djurgarden worked its way into the Conference League via Niederkorn (3:0, 0:1), Austria-Vienna conqueror Tampere (1:1, 3:1) and NK Maribor (1:0, 1:0).
“A huge opportunity”
For Schopp, the game against a “very intense, very flexible opponent” is “a huge opportunity to make an international statement.” The coach added the match plan: “Games are there to be played. Games are there to be enjoyed. But games are also there to be won.”
The members of the fan clubs will not be there, but will instead voice their protest against the ticket prices on Helmut-Köglberger-Platz in front of the stadium. “It’s extremely bitter because I think everyone was looking forward to it,” said Schopp. “At the end of the day we are responsible for playing a good game. On the other hand, it is important for the club to find a solution.”
LASK won the first duel
28 years ago, LASK opened a European Cup season in a competition game against Djurgarden – albeit on a much smaller scale: In the Intertoto Cup, the athletes won against the Swedes 2-0 in what was then the Union Wels Stadium. Christoph Westerthaler, who died in 2018, scored both goals.
600 spectators attended the first competitive game in the short era of coach Friedl Rausch. LASK won the group, including with a 3-1 win in Bremen, back then with Andreas Herzog and Heimo Pfeifenberger. In the play-off for UEFA Cup participation, LASK was eliminated by Volgograd.
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