Vienna Austria wants to focus more on its own youth development

Michael Wagner was presented by Wiener Austria last week as the successor to sports director Manuel Ortlechner. After Jürgen Werner's withdrawal from his position as sports director, the 49-year-old now leads the newly established sports directorate of the Favoritner as the highest authority in the sports sector. Together with Technical Director Robert Urbanek and Academy Director Manuel Takacs, Wagner aims to lay the foundation for more academy players to make the leap to the first team in the future.

New Sports Director Wagner Himself Made the Leap from Youth to First Team at Wiener Austria

Wagner has no prior experience as a sports director. The staunch Austrian - Wagner went through the youth department with the Violets and won the double with the professionals in 2003 - also admitted to being occupied with his work in the private sector. Nevertheless, he decided to "answer the call." As a member of the club's board of directors, Wagner was already involved in internal developments. He described the strategic paper presented to him as "very coherent. There were almost exclusively overlaps with my perspective on how I would see Austria."

Young talents, so-called "benchmark players" with international quality, and experienced leading players are to form the future squad of Austria. The goal is to turn raw diamonds into money every year. This is a "significant part" of the strategic paper, according to the current sole director Harald Zagiczek. Since the path to lucrative group stages in the European Cup is not calculable, Austria's annual balance sheet depends on transfer revenues. "These have not corresponded to the desired results in the past," said Zagiczek.

Zagiczek Saw "Need for Action" at Wiener Austria After Werner's Departure

The aforementioned strategy paper was commissioned by Zagiczek after Werner's departure. "I saw a need for action," said the CFO. However, this was not intended as interference in the sports sector. "I will not interfere in any sports content, but only want to create a structure so that those responsible for sports can act there."

In the future, those responsible for sports could also include a sports director again. This can, of course, be proposed by the investor group - in which Werner also has a place. The club has a veto right, a second proposal must be accepted. There is a potential conflict of interest.

President Kurt Gollowitzer reiterated in the matter that the club, as the owner of the academy, must aim for it to yield results. After all, the operation of the youth academy costs 2.5 to 3 million euros annually. "Otherwise, we could just close the academy and invest the money in players instead," noted Gollowitzer. A new sports director will have to "identify with the new strategy" in any case.

Gollowitzer Demands Courage

When asked whether the path with young players could not always be successful, Gollowitzer remained calm. "It is clear that integrating young players also requires a certain amount of courage. It is an absolute prerequisite to take this risk more often in order to reap the rewards," said the club boss. Wagner emphasized that it cannot be done with young players alone. "We need to move away from the romantic image that only young Austrians play. That will not work," he said. His contract runs until summer 2028. He is prepared for headwinds. Wagner: "I have never been afraid of resistance."

(APA/Red)

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