The Mattersburg Sentinel
The terraces3 Aug 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 11 of the 29 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Market3 Aug 2026
Dejan Dragovic hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mattersburg can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A first appearance Markus Alaba will want to forget — 5.80
Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.80, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.
Market3 Aug 2026
Julian Lainer raises the bar for Mattersburg
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Mattersburg heard it as anything else.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Mattersburg
Florian Lienhart was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market3 Aug 2026
Eyes on Markus Alaba again
The phone has started ringing about Markus Alaba again, and this time the name on the line is Austria Wien. Mattersburg are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad3 Aug 2026
No hiding place for Julian Lainer
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Julian Lainer, and the manager let it.
Match1 Aug 2026
Rapid Wien take the points off Mattersburg
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Julian Junuzovic falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
- Market Marcel Ilsanker told to find a new club
- Squad Florian Lienhart knocks on the manager’s door
- Player ratings The chances came and went for Markus Arnautovic