Marked for Dejan Junuzovic
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 May 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Dejan Junuzovic
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mattersburg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad14 May 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 May 2029
Dominik Trimmel 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.
The dugout14 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Bryan Trujillo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market14 May 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Patrick Lainer’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad14 May 2029
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Mattersburg will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 May 2029
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mattersburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad7 May 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 May 2029
Dominik Trimmel 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Apr 2029
Dejan Junuzovic damages knee ligaments — 30 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 30 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad30 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mattersburg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kofi Schulz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Apr 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Dejan Junuzovic
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mattersburg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch 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.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Words at Mattersburg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominik Trimmel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout23 Apr 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Market23 Apr 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Julian Ilsanker signs something — a contract at Mattersburg or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Apr 2029
47 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mattersburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad16 Apr 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Julian Ilsanker commits to Mattersburg for another 5 years.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dominik Trimmel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Apr 2029
The manager makes an example of Markus Wober
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market16 Apr 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Patrick Lainer’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Apr 2029
54 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mattersburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kofi Schulz and Mattersburg agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Words at Mattersburg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kofi Schulz is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
Guido Wimmer gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Guido Wimmer is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Apr 2029
Dejan Junuzovic damages knee ligaments — 61 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 61 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kofi Schulz and Mattersburg agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mattersburg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Mar 2029
68 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mattersburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch 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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Words at Mattersburg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominik Trimmel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad26 Mar 2029
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Mattersburg are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Mar 2029
Dejan Junuzovic damages knee ligaments — 76 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 76 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at Mattersburg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kofi Schulz is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad19 Mar 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sufianu Sillah Dibaga and Mattersburg agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
Bastian Müller asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market19 Mar 2029
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market19 Mar 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Patrick Lainer’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Juan Sebastián Pérez has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Mar 2029
Dejan Junuzovic damages knee ligaments — 84 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 84 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Dominik Trimmel 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.
Market12 Mar 2029
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Florian Fuchs has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market12 Mar 2029
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Lukas Fuchs is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market12 Mar 2029
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Dejan Onisiwo has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market12 Mar 2029
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Raphael Weimann is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Mar 2029
Dejan Junuzovic damages knee ligaments — 92 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 92 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Guido Wimmer commits to Mattersburg for another 4 years.
Squad5 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mattersburg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Feb 2029
Dejan Junuzovic damages knee ligaments — 100 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 100 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch 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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Kofi Schulz 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.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout26 Feb 2029
Elijah Briscoe knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mattersburg, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Feb 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Dejan Junuzovic
108 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mattersburg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Dominik Trimmel 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Feb 2029
116 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mattersburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Sandro Ingolitsch and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Dominik Trimmel 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.
Transfer targets12 Feb 2029
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets12 Feb 2029
The window shuts on the Alfie Brooks deal
Mattersburg ran out of time with Austria Wien. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Andrii Vasin commits to Mattersburg for another 4 years.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
Guido Wimmer has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Mattersburg will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan Sebastián Pérez, and the manager let it.
Market12 Feb 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Patrick Lainer signs something — a contract at Mattersburg or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.