In the top game of the 12th round of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga, SK Sturm Graz and SK Rapid drew 1-1 on Saturday (match report >>>).
Before the game, Sturm President Christian Jauk spoke at “Sky Sport Austria” about the search for the new sports director or managing director of sports. Andreas Schicker, who held the position at Graz for more than four years, went to TSG Hoffenheim at the beginning of October.
The “Blackies” have now been without a sports director for almost a month. For Jauk, there’s no reason to worry: “We’re taking our time. Things are in coordination with the coaching team and everyone else. Nothing’s getting away from us at the moment,” the Styrians don’t want a quick shot.
decision in November
The 59-year-old discussed the selection process in the interview. Accordingly, the first analysis phase took “extraordinarily long”. The reason: “Because we have delved deeper into the candidates than ever before.”
In the analysis, the people from Graz wanted to find out sticking points in order to question them in the discussions that are now underway. “That’s where we get to know each other and open issues are discussed.”
No big secret, according to Jauk: “The decision-making phase comes this month. But we won’t let ourselves be tied down to one day.” The name of the new Sturm sports director should be decided in November.
“Confirmation of our path”
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According to Jauk, three criteria are essential for Sturm: “The first is that the game philosophy is supported and we continue on the path.” This path should be independent of people – Schicker and trainer Christian Ilzer were or are considered the faces of Graz’s success in the last few months and years.
“The second topic is the club’s philosophy, that we train young players and the transfer proceeds play a big role. The third is Sturm, the passionate club, you have to deal with that.”
A “black and white past” is not necessarily a criterion. It’s more about identifying with what makes Sturm Graz special. “I had the feeling in all the discussions that this was accepted to a much greater extent than I thought,” reveals Jauk, noting that Sturm has become a name thanks to the successes of the last few years, “so that we have different candidates today than we had back then in 2020. This is a confirmation of our path.”
Storm with a new membership record
Another confirmation: the rapid growth of the number of members to now 20,000.
“A multiplication in such a short time has gone beyond all dimensions. I would never have thought that. Another dream has come true. It is confirmation that a lot of things are going well, not just in terms of sport,” says Jauk happily.
Shortly before the game started, our 20,000th member was honored! 🙌 #sturmgraz #AdmiralBL #STUSCR #GEPApictures
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STU 0:0 SCR |⏱️29′ pic.twitter.com/wwviAUTRq6— SK Sturm Graz (@SKSturm) November 2, 2024
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