Football Season Guide

A Herculean effort saw them finish in the Championship Group last season. They finished bottom of it, but the achievement of making it into the top six was huge, especially for a team that basically has to beg, borrow, and steal in order to make ends meet financially. Markus Schopp is the new manager after Manfred Schmid's contract was allowed to run out, rather bizarrely - he did a stellar job for them last season. It's the third time Schopp has been in charge so it's not at all risky. As always, they were the victims of their own zany success last season, losing most of their best players to other clubs, including Captain Heil. Most of their defence left, including their goalkeeper, and their best striker, Havel. Suffice to say that a big rebuild is required. Acquiring Angelo Gattermayer could be a stroke of genius, though - he's got the skillset that they require - but he's going to have to hit the ground running with Fridrikas crocked with an ACL injury - probably won't play again in 2026. It's not something to panic about, however. The Styrians are used to being in this position, and they're remarkably good at finding bargain basement buys and turning them into superstars. The latest one to be excited about is RWB Magnus Dalpiaz, who has joined on loan from Bayern Munich. Appointing Markus Schopp as manager again also had another benefit - his son, Konstantin, agreed to extend his loan spell by another year, and he's too good for this level. He was superb in defence for them last season, despite only really making his mark mid-season. It is difficult to analyse Hartberg because only they truly know what their plans are to replace each player that has left, and they're likely to do it closer to the start of the season as to save that bit more money by not having to pay their salaries throughout the summer when there's no football on. Hoffmann and Fridrikas looked good last season; goal-scoring should not be a worry, especially with Drew nearing a return from injury. New recruit Agustin Urrutia could do well too. Having Komposch back from injury is a big boost to their defence - with him, Spendlhofer, Wilfinger, and Schopp, Hartberg have potentially one of the most solid defences in the division, although I cannot help wondering if Wilfinger will return to playing as a CM. LWB is arguably their biggest worry because the only player that is good at that role is new recruit Gerstl - there isn't really a recognised alternative at this point. As always though, this team usually has a trick up its sleeve so don't write them off. GK is another slight concern. Maric is good enough to be their mainstay but he was supposed to get that position two years ago now, and he's been overlooked again now that Ármin Pécsi has joined from Liverpool. He has not had much of a pre-season though. They're the undisputed kings of being underdogs in Austria, TSV Hartberg. Anticipating them is very difficult. Somehow, they always seem to make it work though, and impressively acquiring wonderkid midfielder Oliver Lukic (widely expected to have his breakout season in 26-27) on loan from Red Bull Salzburg at the last minute should help prove it.