Football Season Guide

Times have been difficult for Sturm since losing manager Franco Foda midway through the 2017/18 season. His replacement Heiko Vogel did not really impress and was fired midway through the previous season, while Roman Mahlich, who took over, managed to barely deliver a European place, and played some dour football in the process. The Grazers eventually opted for another managerial change, with their new boss being Nestor El Maestro, who was most recently in charge of CSKA Sofia and likes to play an attacking-minded brand of football, which is in line with Sturm's philosophy as a club. The Grazers' playing squad has not changed too much over the summer. Former Mattersburg man Thorsten Rocher joins on loan from Ingolstadt in their most eye-catching transfer of the summer so far, while no regulars have left the club. The playing squad is therefore pretty much the same as it was last time around. Most will agree that the Grazers underperformed last season, with their fans particularly frustrated with the number of games in which the side did not look like scoring despite having enough quality to do better in the final third. The big question surrounding Sturm going into the new season is therefore whether their new manager will get them to play the attacking-minded brand of football that they normally do and improve their overall attacking play.