Image: APA / EXPA / ROLAND HACKL
LASK is hopeful about its first appearance under Andreas Wieland. Unlike in the Bundesliga, the Linzers can look back on experiences of success in the European Cup. This should inspire the start of the Conference League. On Thursday (6.45 p.m. / live Sky), Finland’s champions HJK Helsinki will not only score three points, but also make the turnaround. However, the LASK has to do without some of the regular staff.
Before leaving for the north, Wieland found self-critical professionals. “It was definitely the case that the players questioned their performance,” said the 38-year-old, who inherited Dominik Thalhammer on Monday. The former co-trainer will initially look after the athletes until the winter break. Peter Michorl noted that Wieland's first speech was “biting”. The midfielder said before the game in Helsinki: “We want to put everything back into perspective quickly. We can show what we can do internationally. That has worked very well in recent years.”
Personnel reinforcements were largely absent. The players Philipp Wiesinger, Marko Raguz, Petar Filipovic, Yannis Letard and Alexander Schmidt who were missing in the 2-0 draw against Austria are still out. After all, Rene Renner made the trip. “The personnel situation is not nice,” said Wieland. He does not want to shake the basic orientation of the team. They will continue to play proactively against the ball, “as is known at LASK”, and want to look for the direct move forward.
It is now important to get “stability and simplicity” into play, noted Wieland. “We want to gain self-confidence through actions. It is important to get a performance on the pitch that we can get out of this situation as quickly as possible.” The game in Helsinki is played on artificial turf. According to the people of Linz, switching to artificial green shouldn't be a problem.
Opponent HJK (Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi) should cause more problems. The 30-time national champion is in the league. 19 rounds have been played in the Finnish all-year championship, the club from the capital is ahead in the table with 15 wins, three draws and only one defeat (with 32: 9 goals). Helsinki won the title in the “Veikkausliiga” last year. “The statistics in the league are very meaningful. This is a high-quality team,” noted Wieland. The fact that the Finns try to build their game from behind would give his team opportunities in pressing.
Helsinki moved twice in the European Cup before the club found itself in the Conference League. In qualifying for the Champions League, the team of coach Toni Koskela (38) failed in the second round to Malmö FF (1: 2, 2: 2), in the Europa League in the third round to Fenerbahce Istanbul (0: 1, 2 : 5).
Michorl saw LASK as the favorite. “If we go through with our game, I firmly believe that we are the better team. But we have to show that,” he said. And in this regard, too, he was confident: “I am convinced that everyone has understood what it is about.” In the preview on the club's homepage, LASK stated that out of ten duels with Helsinki “normally” five would be won – with three draws and two defeats.
The Finns' squad includes striker Roope Riski, a former Austrian legionnaire. The 30-year-old played for St. Pölten from 2017 to 2019. He has already scored eight goals in the European Cup this season. The Finnish team captain plays in the defensive midfield with Tim Sparv. While an opponent from Finland is new territory for LASK in the European Cup, HJK has already faced Rapid once. In August 2014, the Finns prevailed after a 2-1 and 3: 3 in the Europa League play-off.
