Conference League Qualification: Stöger Warns Rapid Wien About Dundee United

"It will be a real battle in the two games," warned Rapid Vienna coach Peter Stöger before the first leg of the Conference League qualification against Dundee United, cautioning against assuming a guaranteed advancement.

Market Value Comparison Meaningless for Stöger Before Conference League Qualification Against Dundee United

After four wins in the first four competitive matches, the Viennese Greens aim to continue in the same vein. "The start of the season was, of course, outstanding in terms of results," said sports director Markus Katzer. "In the last games, you could also see the positive development in the way we play." Nevertheless, they must remain humble and focused.

Dundee United stands out mainly due to the physicality and robustness of its players, emphasized the two Rapid officials on Wednesday. "It will be necessary for us to hold our ground physically, but also to find our solutions in the footballing area. It will be a challenging task," said Stöger. According to the platform transfermarkt.at, the squad of the "Tangerines" is worth just under nine million euros, compared to the 44 million that the market values of the Rapid players add up to. "I am still looking for the person who determines the market value. I haven't found them yet," said Stöger with a wink, explaining that these figures have no significance for him. "All the games have to be played."

What, however, fuels the favorite role that Rapid has is the personnel situation. While Stöger can draw from a full squad aside from the long-term injured, Dundee head coach Jim Goodwin has several key players unavailable. A definite absence is captain Ross Graham, and the Australian Ryan Strain and Macedonian Kristijan Trapanovski are also injured. The starting eleven currently includes numerous newcomers who must take on a lot of responsibility and perform from the start. Due to the many absences, the newly acquired defense chief Bert Esselink recently took the field as captain.

Dundee United Won Against Rapid Vienna 41 Years Ago

In the second qualifying round, Dundee advanced with two 1-0 victories against the Luxembourg representative UNA Strassen. The Rapid coaches and analysts have learned from this. "In terms of chance conversion, they didn't exploit one or two opportunities optimally, which is why the results were close. On the other hand, it must be said that the Luxembourgers also had their chances," said Stöger. He did not want to reveal more. "We also have a lot of information on what makes this team strong."

In Hütteldorf, the Green-Whites will also encounter an unpleasant episode in their European Cup history. In March 1984, Rapid lost in the quarter-finals of the then European Cup after a 2-1 victory at the Hanappi Stadium to the Scots away with 0-1 and were eliminated thanks to the away goals rule. The last encounter with a Scottish club ended happily: Against the Glasgow Rangers, there was a 1-0 home victory in the Europa League in December 2018. The first game had been won by the Rangers 3-1 at the debut of coach Dietmar Kühbauer.

Over 1,000 fans from Scotland will cheer for Dundee in Vienna before the return match takes place next week at Tannadice Park. The Rapid players hope for a similarly long European Cup season as last time, when the still painful second-leg defeat against Djurgardens ended in the Conference League quarter-finals in April. "We had a very, very successful international season last year, but in the end, nothing was won," Stöger recalled. "It must be clear to everyone where the main task is." That is the national championship.

(APA/Red)

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