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The 4: 3 in the Europa League against Ludogorez Razgrad did not last long: on Sunday, LASK in the Bundesliga will go for the next victory in the away game against Sturm Graz (5pm). It’s a special game for LASK coach Dominik Thalhammer – meet his apprentice Christian Ilzer. Two years ago Thalhammer, as the ÖFB’s head of coach training, accompanied his current opponent as a tutor on the professional license course.
“You talk a lot on the phone, you have at least six interventions, that is, possibly four training sessions and two games. Then you discuss training and games before and after,” Thalhammer said, explaining his role as a tutor at the time. With his advice, he probably made the most difficult task before tomorrow’s duel with his former protégé.
In 2018, Ilzer continued to coach at Wolfsberg and LASK as Oliver Glasner’s successor in conversation. Thalhammer recommended athletes to his protégé in the OÖN interview at the time: “What speaks for Christian Ilzer is that his personality is very thoughtful and he has a lot of experience as a coach. He has the right foresight and good potential for me.” Thalhammer tried to develop this further in the course.
Really preferred candidate
What Ilzer didn’t know during weeks of discussions about the possible switch to LASK: Even back then, the teacher was the real candidate for Glasner’s successor, not the apprentice. “We spoke to Dominik a year ago,” confirmed LASK Vice President Jürgen Werner last summer when Thalhammer was won over as coach on the second attempt.
Ilzer also came out empty-handed because LASK settled on Valerien Ismael. The 43-year-old signed with Austria, where he gained unusual experiences: for the first time in his coaching career, he had to deal with failure. There was little resistance from the Viennese when Sturm Graz recruited the Styrians three and a half months ago.
With the return home, success returned. Alongside the top duo of Salzburg and Rapid, Sturm is the third undefeated team in the Bundesliga and is just behind the athletes in fourth place. “It’s an important game for us,” said LASK captain Gernot Trauner. “But we only have big games at the moment.”
“It’s a key game,” said Thalhammer, who will not take into account the trend-setting Europa League game in Antwerp on Thursday in his line-up. “Sturm Graz takes precedence.” The LASK coach has an advantage: thanks to the one-two pass in the coach’s training, he knows exactly how Ilzer will act and react. “He did a good job. Sturm Graz developed very well. They are very good opponents who show good structure.” For Ilzer, the game is a masters test: he won neither Wolfsberg nor Austria in six attempts against LASK.
Article of
Günther Mayrhofer
Sports editor
