Tillmitsch shows off

“Of course, promotion is an issue for us”

The promoted team continues to rejoice in the national league.(Bild: Richard Purgstaller)

Is the third strike coming? Regional league team Tillmitsch has been promoted twice in a row. Coach Bernd Windisch's squad is also in the championship race this year. The squad and the stadium are ready for the third division. The southern Styrians have set the title as their goal - but not the league title.

"Of course, promotion to the regional league is an issue. But unlike in the lower and upper leagues, we're not going all out for it," says Marcel Hofer, sports director of Styrian regional league club Tillmitsch. Another title is the declared goal: "The Styrian Cup, because we definitely want to play in the ÖFB Cup next season." There would also be a place in that cup for the champion's plate in the regional league. "If it works out, we'll gladly accept it, of course."

David Schloffer (left) and the Tillmitsch team are hard to stop.(Bild: Richard Purgstaller)

A look at the squad shows: The southern Styrians are certainly not lacking in quality! Ex-Sturm professional David Schloffer (68 Bundesliga and 71 second division games), Philipp Posch (50 games in the top two leagues), Thomas Maier (52 games in League Two), ex-Kapfenberg player Patrick Krenn and former GAK striker Filip Smoljan all feature in the squad. "We added quality and depth in the winter because we had to deal with a few injuries in the fall," says Hofer.

Above the targets
Fürstenfeld, Lebring and Fehring are among the hot tips in the promotion battle. And in the middle of it all is the promoted team from Tillmitsch. "We already knew that we had a good team. Our realistic goal was to finish between third and sixth," says the sporting director. Now, however, it could go straight to the top once again.

The new stadium, which will be built in 2023, has already been commissioned and is suitable for the regional league. "Nothing would stand in the way of promotion," winks Hofer. Second division team Sturm II also train at the stadium - the Tillmitschers are a partner club of the Graz-based Bundesliga club. "They train with us three to five times." However, second division matches after the problems in Gleisdorf are inconceivable, because "with the dimensions of the pitch and the infrastructure around it, we wouldn't be allowed to play in the second division."