Bad memory

GAK: Please not another lesson from the Bulls!

Luki Graf once threw himself into battle against Junuzovic and Co.

(Bild: Pail Sepp)

GAK face a major hurdle in their return to the Bundesliga on Friday. Because with Red Bull Salzburg, the league's big boys are coming to the Merkur Arena. The "Krone" heralds the countdown, with just three days to go until the start of the Bundesliga.

In the last 17 years in which the "Red Jackets" have not been in the top flight, they have only faced the Salzburg Bulls in one competitive match. On April 3, 2019 in the semi-finals of the ÖFB Cup. The GAK had sensationally advanced as a regional league team, knocking Vienna's Austria out of the competition with a 2:1 win after extra time. "Stop it, I've already forgotten the 0:6," laughs Lukas Graf, who played in central defense five years ago. "That was a lesson. Or rather, 90 minutes. It started from the first second, and in the tenth it was really dicey for the first time."

GAK veteran Lukas Graf

(Bild: GEPA)

Despite the bitter defeat, it was a remarkable performance overall for Graf and the match itself was a cool game. "But we've learned a lot since then, you can't compare it to today"

Unfortunately, everything else was much more important to me. I rediscovered my love of soccer at GAK.

Lukas Graf

His career to date has also been a learning phase. "At 17, I was already in the Kapfenberg squad. But I lost my focus and joy - unfortunately, everything else was much more important to me," recalls the now 29-year-old and long-serving GAK player. "I then started playing again at my home club Thörl and then switched to GAK in the top division. That's where I found my passion for soccer again."

"Dream comes true"
He never thought that his career would take him all the way to the Bundesliga. "Never in my life, you'd be megalomaniac! It's a dream come true for me. Every footballer wants that."