The minimum goal has been reached, after entering the championship round, Rapid can look up. Marco Grüll in the big AUSTRIA interview…
“We think very clearly in European terms. That’s our goal, but it’s not a sure-fire success,” said coach Ferdinand Feldhofer. “We can attack, we don’t have the pressure of the last few weeks.” Rapid’s journey in the championship group starts today (2:30 p.m.) in Klagenfurt. Rapid won 3-0 against coach Peter Pacult’s team last week and wants to repeat that today. Beforehand, rapid goalgetter Marco Grüll took the time for a detailed interview with AUSTRIA.
AUSTRIA: Marco, how relieved is it to be in the top six?
FRAME GRÜLL: “Of course we are very happy. We all knew that if that went wrong, the season was almost over and it would be a big disappointment. That’s how we withstood the pressure we put on ourselves and deserved to be up there. Now we can attack again – I think anything is possible up to second place, everyone is very, very close together. Sturm, for example, are having a very strong season but are only three points ahead of us. Everything can change with one game. Only Salzburg is unfortunately very, very far away. They are of great quality and would have to slip up once in a while. Dreaming is always allowed, but you should be realistic: First place will be very difficult.”
AUSTRIA: How important would a good start in Klagenfurt be?
GROW: “I don’t think it’s easy to play the same opponent twice in such a short space of time. They’ll adapt better to us, they’ll want to make life more difficult for us in their home stadium. But that shouldn’t bother us too much, as Rapid it must be our goal to win against the newly promoted team. We did that confidently last week and we want to do it again on Sunday. Three points at the start would be extremely valuable, then we’ll be up there right away and we could go into the derby week with a good feeling.”
AUSTRIA: Speaking of Derby…
GROW: “The game isn’t in the back of our minds, we have to get the Klagenfurt task done properly first. But then of course we’re looking forward to the game with hopefully a lot of fans behind us. It’s about time Rapid won a home derby in the new stadium.”
AUSTRIA: How happy are you that fans are finally allowed back into the stadium?
GROW: “I think the last two years have been very bitter for us footballers and of course the fans. Last week against Klagenfurt we saw how much the spectators can inspire us – the atmosphere was great. It won’t be any different in the championship round. We all missed that and hope that fans in the stadium will become normal again from now on.”
AUSTRIA: Many fans are worried about your whereabouts in the summer – what do you tell them?
GROW: “As a footballer things often happen very quickly, that’s for sure. If there are any inquiries, I will deal with them after the season. But I feel very comfortable in Hütteldorf, I still have a valid contract here. I can definitely imagine staying with Rapid beyond the summer.”
