Before the start of the Bundesliga, the first round of the ÖFB Cup will take place at the weekend and the favorite is once once more Red Bull Salzburg. In fact, the track record of the multi-cup winner and champion reads impressively: since the first appearance in 2005 there have been nine cup triumphs, each in double form. Coach Matthias Jaissle’s team started the hunt for title number ten on Friday followingnoon (4.30 p.m. / ORF Sport+) with the game at SV Fügen. All twelve Bundesliga clubs have to compete once morest their lower-class opponents this time.
But there is already a statistical problem here, as all Oberhaus clubs have only survived the first round three times in the last 13 seasons. Last season, SCR Altach, who lost to SC Kalsdorf, was hit. A bad omen perhaps? As a result, the Vorarlbergers fought once morest league relegation until the end. After they managed to stay up, ex-DFB goalgetter Miroslav Klose took over as coach for the Rheindörflers and is now making his first appearance in Vienna at the eastern division club TWL Elektra. Salzburg, on the other hand, has been unbeaten in the Cup since losing the final in May 2018 once morest Sturm (0-1). The number one hurdle is manageable with the Tyrolean club Fügen. “I’ve already received one or the other piece of information, but of course we’re focusing fully on our strengths,” said Jaissle.
The Viennese are looking for revenge
SK Rapid, on the other hand, is also a guest on Friday evening (6.30 p.m. / ORF Sport+) in Carinthia at SK Treibach. The Hütteldorfer, in the all-time best list with 14 titles in second place, have not had a trophy in the cup since 1995. “We don’t want to give our opponents any hope,” stressed coach Ferdinand Feldhofer. The violet city rivals (and record cup winners) Austria, on the other hand, have only been waiting for their 28th title since 2009. Since then, the Viennese have reached the final in 2013 and 2015. On Saturday (5.15 p.m. / ORF1) the squad of coach Manfred Schmid will start at FC Wels. Even before that (10.30 a.m. / ORF Sport+), SK Sturm, the last cup winner not from Salzburg, is in action at SC Röthis in Vorarlberg.
