It took Michael Wimmer six games or 540 minutes to get the fans of FK Austria Wien on his side.
After the 2-0 win in the Vienna Derby, the purple fans chanted the coach’s name for the first time.
“It means a lot to me,” says the German.
This is how the violets celebrate the derby victory >>>
No wonder, since he started a job in January that was too delicate for many other candidates in the purple management team. The separation from Manfred Schmid met with widespread incomprehension from practically all fans.
Good reaction
In the first two games under his aegis, Wimmer was also confronted with choreographies that paid homage to his predecessor and his assistant coach Cem Sekerlioglu. But Wimmer reacted correctly at the time, took it easy and commented on it in a very appreciative way in the direction of Schmid.
“Right from the start I didn’t have the feeling that it was negative towards me, but rather open and neutral. I was assessed, which is also normal,” he says.
The 42-year-old continues: “I’ve always said that I give myself 100 percent and identify 100 percent with the club.”
milestone reached
After six games, he has reached the first milestone that led Austria into the master group. Four wins, two defeats, 12:6 goals – that’s the balance sheet. In the spring table, the violets are third behind Salzburg (16 points) and Sturm (15) with twelve points.
“The relief is huge. Sure, the pressure was huge, but I concentrated on what I could influence – working with the team,” says Wimmer, breathing a sigh of relief after making it into the top 6.
In the victorious derby, Wimmer’s handwriting was already clearly visible in terms of pressing. Rapid coach Zoran Barisic openly admitted that “Austria was very good in the game against the ball”.
Compliments to the FAK fans
And in the final phase, when things could have gotten dicey again, Wimmer’s violets kept calm.
The FAK trainer sees the supporters as not least responsible for this: “The fact that my name is called is great and I’m happy. I can return the compliment straight away. Similar to the action against Klagenfurt, the fans gave us a lot in the last 10- 15 minutes over the finish line.”
Rapid fans hurt folders with Pyro >>>
