Upper Austria’s Bundesliga football teams Blau-Weiß Linz and LASK confidently overcame the first hurdles in the ÖFB Cup: After the 5-0 win against the Styrian regional league team Wildon, the draw gave Blau-Weiß a local derby against Hertha Wels, while the Athletikers will play away against Mauer in the second round (27, 28 or 29 August) after the 3-0 win against Gurten.
“I am very satisfied with our performance. We didn’t allow a single shot on goal, we were very focused,” said Blau-Weiß-Linz coach Gerald Scheiblehner, who sent his team onto the pitch against the third division team in a 4-3-3 system. What particularly pleased the 47-year-old: “All of the strikers scored.”
In addition to double goalscorer Ronivaldo, new signings Alexander Schmidt and Thomas Goiginger also scored their first competitive goals. And although striker Ronivaldo has now taken on Austrian citizenship, the Linz team still has a Brazilian flair in the air: right-back Anderson and midfielder Lucas Dantas were two South American new signings in the starting eleven – and they impressed right from the start. Midfielder Dantas in particular could prove to be a stroke of luck: “He was with us for ten days in the spring. We immediately saw how technically good, strong he is, but also robust.”
Will Linz become a new stronghold for Brazilian footballers? “We are obviously keeping an eye on this market. Anderson speaks perfect German, which helps enormously with settling in. And Ronivaldo is particularly concerned with ensuring that they not only get on well with each other, but are also perfectly integrated into the team,” explains Scheiblehner.
11:1 for LASK’s opening opponent
LASK was never in danger in the 3-0 win in Gurten. “But I will only be satisfied when we learn to use the chances that we create very well,” said coach Thomas Darazs. Two players could soon solve the problem: Adil Taoui was recently absent due to injury, and Maximilian Entrup was not yet in the game after his additional vacation in Gurten for the European Championships. On Saturday, LASK will kick off the Bundesliga season at their former club Hartberg. The Styrian team were already merciless in the 11-1 win in Bischofshofen.
