For SK Sturm, things are moving quickly. After number zero against Austria Klagenfurt on Saturday, they will face Graz again tomorrow, Tuesday. PSV Eindhoven will host the Merkur Arena at 20.30. The black and whites face an almost impossible task to solve in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the Champions League. It is important to make up for the 1:4 deficit from the first leg.
Everyone understands the difficult starting position. However, the players are fighters. “We have to go at full speed, there is nothing else,” says John Gorenc Stankovi (centre). “We all know it will be tough against PSV. But if we don’t have any hope, we don’t have to play at all.” . The injured Manpreet Sarkarya (muscle tear) will almost certainly miss the Dutch national team. “We will give everything we have on Tuesday. It will be difficult, but nothing is impossible,” said Amado Dante. And Niklas Gerhofer is also optimistic: “If we score early, we will definitely achieve something.”
Players receive special objectives
How will the coach commit his team to an almost impossible task? Should ascension be present in people’s minds? “I give my players very different goals, not results goals. Every player has certain points they can give, everyone has to focus on them. If every eleven player does that, a miracle can happen,” says Elzer and continues: “We didn’t do anything wrong.” Tactical mistakes in the first leg. Of course, he understands that pressing should work better than in the first match. The stem, approach line and trigger should be more accurate and the depth of the block should not be too large. “If we get too far away, they’ll be cleaned up,” the 45-year-old says in no uncertain terms.
Sturm will need an exceptional performance to hold off against PSV in their second duel in a week. “It should all work out for us,” says Ilzer. But he also relies on the visitors to the stadium and explains: “The north is always there anyway. The spectators on the long side gave us really good support against Klagenfurt. One player or the other was injured, over the limit, although it has already been done. That’s exactly what we need.” Tuesday “.
World class team in Graz
In terms of viewers, there is still room for improvement for Tuesday. And by yesterday afternoon 11,000 tickets had been sold, including the Dutch fans. “I can only invite all the spectators to come to the stadium. It’s not every day to experience a world-class team like PSV Eindhoven,” says Managing Director Andreas Scheker.
