Welcome back to Vienna and to Frank Athlete’s second season in charge at First Vienna in the Austrian second division. After a surprising first season back in the league in which the side finished in 3rd place, now Frank looks to build on that foundation and attempt to win promotion to the Austrian Bundesliga within the next two years. Here we go…

Season Summary

Season: 2023/24
Division: Austrian 2. Liga
Expectations: Top half finish

Squad Changes

Transfers in: Enrique Wild, DL, LASK Amateure OÖ (€0); Prince Mumba, AMR, Istra 1961 (€0); Guillaume Furrer, AML, Freiburg (€0); Sébastien Da Silva, ST, Laval (€0); Zvonimir Vukoja, MC, Posušje (Loan)
Youth promotions: Tobias Quiroga, AMC
Added to loan list: Jonathan Breinl, DL
Transfers out: Bernhard Luxbacher, MC, BW Linz (€0)

Preseason

Having only recruited one player in the January transfer window, and with several more opting to leave at the end of the season, there were quite a few holes in the squad that needed filling. A back up left back was required to provide competition for Lercher and alternative options on both flanks was also needed, as well as an out and out Deep Lying Forward and a decent playmaker too.

Frank brought in a player for each of those positions, with the pick of the crop being Furrer who could really play on either wing and will offer competition to Itamar Noy. The players bedded in well during the pre season friendlies as the side lost one, drew three and won three.

League Performance

Three of our opening four games were against the three teams slated by the bookies to finish in the top three this season, and as First Vienna secured maximum points, it was clear that we would also be a team in amongst the promotion fight. Five more wins, a draw and three defeats saw the team in top spot by the end of October. The crucial differene so far this season, compared to the previous campaign, was our ability to convert draws into wins. Of the 27 goals scored in those opening matches, 11 of them had come in the last 15 minutes, suggesting that we were capable of overpowering our opponents in the latter stages of the game as they got more tired.

Despite the positive progress so far, the final few games of the calendar year were a nervy affair. The team managed 0 wins in four, with the results being a loss and three draws as we headed into the Winter break. Those poor performances had Frank considering the need for a plan ‘B’ for when the tactic wasn’t delivering as expected. It seemed the side were sometimes overrun in midfield, a consequence of having two advanced roles in the middle. With the transfer window open once again, Frank set about identifying alternative options for central midfield. Nicolas Zdichynec signed on loan from divisional rivals Ried, while Emanuele Zuelli came in on a free transfer. Both could play a more defensive role in the middle, and Frank’s plan was to deploy a Ball Winning Midfielder in the DM strata to provide additional cover when needed.

As the season recommenced in February, First Vienna hit the ground running. Draws against fellow title challengers Reid and Admira were the only points dropped in the next ten games, as the team restored themselves to top spot, albeit with Ried still hot on their heels. Entering the final four games of the season, First found themselves in a three way title race.

Crucially, Ried and Admira would play each other which might prove to be the pivotal match, although both would also play Amstetten who were wavering in mid table despite being tipped for a promotion push before the start of the season. With Rapid Wien II up first on Vienna’s fixture list, a local derby should be exactly what was needed to get the pulses racing. Despite Frank’s optimism, things did not go to plan as his side were defeated 3-2, despite leading 2-1 on 78 minutes. To make things worse, Ried and Admira both won and so First slipped to second place, 2 points off the top and 3 above third.

A win against Horn helped ensure the dream was kept alive, but with the two rivals managing to draw in their grudge match, First returned to the top of the table, level on points with Ried but ahead on goal difference. Two games left and all to play for.

Next up was another Vienesse side, Young Violets Austria, who were wallowing in the relgation zone and so surely wouldn’t pose much of a threat? Wrong of course! Vienna found themselves 3-0 down after an hour, and despite a late surge, the score finished 4-2 to the youngsters. Incredibly, Ried managed to lose their penultimate game too, while Admira were able to capitalise and take the three points in their match.

With only one game to go, just two points seperated the three sides. Ried and First on 57 points, Admira on 55. Reid were only able to draw, while Admira took all the points at home to Amstetten. Vienna needed a win, a draw wouldn’t be enough since Admira had the superior goal difference. After 17 mins, First were 2-0 up, but 13 minutes later found themselves 3-2 down! An equaliser on the stroke of half time made the team talk somewhat easier, and after a nervy 40 minutes in the second half, Noy converted a penalty and it was enough to win. Vienna were champions, despite their best efforts to bottle it!

What a fantastic end to the season. I really didn’t think promotion would be on the cards this year, especially given the squad strength of our rivals. We’ve now given ourselves a mammoth task for next season of trying to stay in the top flight.

Cup Performance

The ÖFB Cup was another short lived campaign. A comfortable win in the First round set up a Second Round tie against FK Austria Vienna. Despite the progress the team have made, we were no match for their superior technical ability adn they comfortably defeated us 2-0.

Conclusion

Next season will be a big step up for the team, and avoiding relegation will inevitably be the only objective. The Austrian Bundesliga is quite a split division, with 6 or 7 teams routinely competing for European qualification, and the rest playing for their survival. Points will be hard to come by and hard earned but hopefully we can scrape enough to stay there. Since budget is such an issue at the moment, we’ll be looking to reduce our squad size in favour of offering more wages to first team starters. Hopefully that will help attract some better players.

Competition Overview

Austrian 2. Liga

Expectation: 7th

Actual: 1st

Summary: A superb season, ending with a thrilling title race where the team were ultimately crowned division champions!

Best moment: The final game of the season. Momentum in the match swayed wildly back and forth, with Vienna eventually securing the win and the title in the process.

Low moment: A dreadful run in November allowed the other title challengers to stake their claim and ensure it was a close run thing.

Austrian Cup

Expectation: Second Round

Actual: Second Round

Summary: Not a great contest, but hardly our priority this season. We have a long way to go to be competitive with the top division sides.

Best moment: Errr…. I guess the wsole vicotry would have been the highlight, but not much to write home about given the oppositiion.

Low moment: Defeat in the Second Round is of course a disappointment, but as mentioned above, we’re not able to compete aginst those top division sides yet.

Facts & Figures

Given our title winning run, of course our statistics suggest we were one of the stronger teams. but actually we performed below the league average in both goals conceded and xG per game. This is definitely something we can try and address as we start to recruit for the Bundesliga, but I also think it’s linked to the tactic we’ve been using. Next year, the step up is significant and so employing a cautious approach will be essential to trying not to leak too many goals.

Financially, we are bang in trouble! The first season saw some sensible spending and careful management of the finances, but promotion to the Bundesliga means we have to invest in undersoil heating which has plunged us deep into the red. The impact this will likely have on the transfer and wage budget could be significant but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

End Credits

Thanks for reading this update, I really hope you enjoyed it. You’ll find more updates from me, as well as blogs from some other fantastic writers at CoffeehouseFM so make sure you check them out. Feel free to leave a comment below, or you can message me @fm_athlete if you feel like getting in touch. Special thanks to FM Rensie for the use of his Rensie skin in FM23.

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