SK Sturm Graz vs Rangers preview: Lauda than drums
Can Rangers show their European pedigree in Austria?
This article was written for Scottishfootball.info by Adam Bortkiewicz, a Rangers fan and online sports writer, who has his own Rangers blog you can follow.
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Morning all, Rangers need a result in Austria or things are going to start looking really bleak in Europe for Russell Martin. It would be a great night for the tradition of Rangers European nights to come back in full swing.
Wounded
Most expected Rangers to win their first European home game of the season last week. Genk are obviously a good team but Rangers had home advantage and a very strong Europa League record behind them. This counted for nothing as ten-man Rangers never really got going in yet another game that passed the team by this season.
For anyone interested in more detailed thoughts on that performance, you can look here for my post-match write-up.
Despite the European loss, Rangers managed to string together two domestic wins in a row for the first time. Following up a 2-0 defeat of Hibs in the League Cup quarter final with their first league win, coming away at Livingston on Sunday.
Domestic Rangers and European Rangers have always been such different animals (aside from under Steven Gerrard) that it feels pointless to try and compare the results and performances here.
Sunday was a good show of resolve, and also featured a first half of passable football. But the level of resolve required and the type of football played will be different tonight.
The Hibs game had control without too much flair included. I expect that Rangers will struggle to establish any kind of control away in Austria given the quality of the opposition. Speaking of…
There’s a Storm Brewing
Austria was formerly a hot bed of football in Europe. We have to look back quite a ways to see when that was the case. But in the 30s Austria were considered a top footballing nation that most could learn from, players like Matthias Sindelar and Josef Bican (who would go on to play for Czechoslovakia after Austria, the rules weren’t as strict then) lit up the pitch and were part of this footballing revolution.
As a nation they were pioneers of the 2-3-5 system that was years ahead of it’s time and brought flair and flexibility to a sport that was often caught up in it’s formulaic ways. One of the most famous results of this era was a 5-0 drubbing of Scotland (at this point considered actually quite good) in 1931.
They say this footballing revolution started in the famous Austrian Coffee houses where discussion of football would lead to tactical changes and ideas. Indeed it’s often said that this coffee house conversation is a key part of Austrian culture and the average Austrian’s personality.
Sadly the world was robbed of seeing what the Austrian national team could become due to Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 and World War II. Indeed, Mathias Sindelar lost his life at the beginning of the conflict.
That was the last time that Austria was considered a super power in football. But in recent years we’ve seen the rise of some very formidable club sides within the nation. Rapid Vienna have been a constant presence in European competition in the 21st century. Thanks to Red Bull’s intervention, RB Salzburg have become a stepping stone for top European talent and UCL regulars.
In recent years we’ve seen the rise of tonight’s opponents, SK Sturm Graz. Although sporadically successful and consistently in the top flight, Sturm Graz have not had any kind of consistent dominance until recently.
Thanks to some shrewd recruitment and important sales, the home side have been Austrian Champions two years running and don’t look like slowing down despite a fairly heavy turnover in players season on season.
They are formidable as a side and have become a target for young players looking to get their big move. Former Motherwell loanee, Mika Biereth joined the club from Arsenal after a very strong loan spell saw him lift the league title. He wasn’t at the club for long and soon Monaco appeared to take the Dane to Monte Carlo for a fee of around 13 million Euros.
That kind of transfer puts teams on the radar of agencies around the world looking to get their clients big moves down the line.
It’s hard to pinpoint the makeup of this side, given the amount of changes to personnel, but under manager Jurgen Samuel they play a 4-4-2 diamond very consistently. I dread to make a prediction but I do think that one of the issues with a diamond is the wide areas, given the high positioning of our wingers under Russell Martin, this is something we can target and find Gassama and Antman early like we saw at Livingston on Sunday.
A potential sign of hope for Rangers is that Sturm Graz have lost 2 home games already this season, both in the league. Although one of these came against Rapid Vienna and may be expected, the loss against Austria Vienna (9th at the time) is a bigger red flag for supporters of the home side.
Austria Vienna set up in a 3 and looked to get the wing backs on the outside of Sturm Graz’s diamond, I’d suggest that we might emulate this approach with Tavernier tucking inside to form a 3 and allowing Meghoma and the wide men to attack around the outside.
Blue is the Colour
Overall, I’m not expecting much from tonight’s game from a Rangers perspective. The opposition also lost their first league phase game and will want to right that wrong in front of their home fans.
As it’s a Scottish team facing off against an Austrian side, it’s a massive game for coefficient purposes - as my patron here has explained in his preview for this week.
But I feel like Martin will have his eyes firmly on the league, he will view tonight as a “free hit” of sorts given the quality of opposition. That’s not how things work at Rangers, and we need to see the standards rise at this football club.
For our line-up I’m not sure what to expect upfront, Chermiti may be the choice given his physicality, but it seems like 6 and half a dozen between the two striking options. Neither have really impressed me during games if I’m being honest. Miovski has a goal against Hibs but his general play hasn’t really been up to scratch. Chermiti has been a bit chaotic but isn’t afraid to get in behind and get on the ball.
Aside from that I’m not expecting too many changes. No Diomande due to suspension but I’m not sure he’d have been put straight into the team anyway. Barron has the legs on Rothwell for a game like this too.
Back-line picks itself really.
I’m not feeling great about this game but I hope I can be proven wrong, I wasn’t optimistic for Malmö away last season and we won 2-0. Maybe we can see some surprise heroics tonight.
I hope so.
Thanks for reading, enjoy the game, safe travels to those going to Austria.