2023-08-16 13:18:07
On Thursday (9:00 p.m./live ORF 1) in Debrecen, Rapid is about keeping alive the chance of making it into the group stage of the Football Conference League. After the even somewhat lucky 0-0 last week in Hütteldorf, the green-whites are hoping for an extension of the European Cup season with a successful second leg. However, last year’s finalists Fiorentina would be waiting in the play-off if they won in Hungary, which would mean a mammoth task.
“I wish with all my heart to be able to play against Fiorentina. They are a world-class opponent,” said Rapid coach Zoran Barisic at a press conference on Wednesday. “But now it’s time to take the Debrecen hurdle. All our focus and energy is on this game.” Around a thousand Rapid fans want to whip their team to victory in eastern Hungary. The Rapiders don’t go to Debrecen with a lot of self-confidence after the actually good start to the season. Because the 0-1 home defeat against Hartberg put a damper on the Viennese.
“We analyzed the defeat openly and objectively to show what things didn’t work. It’s important to process and check off negative experiences as quickly as possible, so it’s obviously an advantage if there’s a game again quickly,” Barisic wants to quickly look ahead again. Mentally, the team is very well together. “We have only ourselves to blame for the defeat against Hartberg, we have to stay calm and continue to believe in ourselves.”
Debrecen is “very strong in terms of play and has a lot of individual class”. “It’s going to be a hot atmosphere. Little things, and possibly luck, will make all the difference.” The coach doesn’t want to change anything about attacking football. “We want to keep our basic attacking strategy away from Debrecen. If we want to progress, we should win there.”
One winger takes turns in the squad: left winger Marco Grüll, who was recently ill, is returning, but Nicolas Kühn is now out with the flu. Ante Bajic will also be there, Lukas Grgic is not ready yet. “I will definitely only use players who are 100 percent fit,” said Barisic.
At Debrecen, the green-whites continued to be the favorites. “I think Rapid are still favorites to get promoted,” said coach Srdjan Blagojevic. In the first leg, the strong Hungarian team had proven their skills throughout and put Rapid in trouble with two shots from the pole. “But I think we can play even better in the second leg,” announced Blagojevic confidently.
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