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It will no longer be a love story between Rapidler and the ÖFB-Cup: the 32-time champion has won the national cup 14 times, but the last trophy so far was raised to the Prater heaven half a footballing eternity ago, in 1995. The following Statistics probably hurts all green and white hearts: Hütteldorfer have been crowned cup champions 14 times, but have just as often lost a final. For comparison: record cup winners and arch rivals Austria have registered 27 titles, but have only lost a final 11 times. And last but not least, another negative Green and White Cup statistic: In three of the last four seasons, it suffered bitter defeats against rivals Salzburg, namely two in the final. So the prospects are not too rosy for Hütteldorfer ahead of the round of 16 of the cup on Wednesday night (8.30pm / ORF 1) in Wals-Siezenheim.
Especially since Dietmar Kühbauer’s team enters the long-awaited final after disappointments in the championship and in the Europa League. On the other hand, Salzburg have an impressive Cup record, the only one in the decade that is coming to an end: although the first Cup win in club history was not achieved until 2012 – since then seven titles have been won – and only one final (2018 against Sturm) lost.
But the cup has its own laws, so the re-leader of the table makes little effort to be pushed into the (really clear) role of favorites: “The games against Rapid are always difficult, it is usually a tough fight. the last cup- Last year’s match (1: 2 after the second round, note) was the last second before we could fix the win. Also, Rapid was in the last two games, in the Europa League and in the Championship – not so successful. That makes it even more dangerous, “said defense chief Andre Ramalho. Coach Jesse Marsch sees it in a similar light, who after the 3-1 win over LASK demands an equally strong performance from his players to be successful against Rapid. He also does not want to overestimate Hütteldorfer’s shameful 3-0 home loss to Wattens: “You have rotated a lot and now you will surely arrive with a new lineup,” said the American. “At the moment, the will and the fight on the field are the most important issues against Rapid.”
“Everything is possible in a game”
His counterpart Kühbauer is also convinced that victory is only possible with irrepressible will. “A cup win against Salzburg would be a big deal, but for that we need an incredibly good performance and conviction,” said the Burgenlander, who isn’t really impressed by the Red Bull team’s near-flawless cup record. “It shows that they are a really good team, but anything is possible in this match. We will bring eleven players to the field who are convinced that we can beat Salzburg,” the Rapid manager promised on Tuesday.
While the Hütteldorfer has to go to the bottom of the Admira table in the final round of the championship before Saturday’s (short this year) winter break, the main home game against the European Cup heroes from Wolfsberg awaits the Salzburg team on Sunday. “If we win the last two games, we will have had a very good autumn,” said the 47-year-old Marsch, despite renewed disappointment from the Champions League.
In the other two matches of the round of 16 of the Cup on Wednesday, the favorite roles are clearly distributed: WAC receives second division Amstetten in the afternoon (4 pm), LASK after (6 pm / both ORF-Sport + ) the fourth division ASK Elektra of the Vienna City League. Austria, Sturm Graz, Klagenfurt and Vienna are already in the round of 16.
