Bundesliga coach

Scheiblehner and Ilzer: pretty much best friends

Christian Ilzer and Gerald Scheiblehner go through thick and thin(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Chris Bauer)

Normally, the coaches of Bundesliga clubs are bitter rivals and at best show respect for each other's work. Not so in the case of a duo who not only passed their coaching exams together, but also get on very well off the pitch.

As a duo, they studied together for their UEFA Pro license, celebrated winning the double at Graz at the invitation of the Sturm coach and celebrated the promotion of BW Linz during a parallel trip to Mallorca: current Bundesliga opponents Gerald Scheiblehner and Christian Ilzer have become friends for life and their relationship goes far beyond the usual one between colleagues. "We're good friends, we played against each other in the regional league and still regularly talk about soccer today," emphasizes Scheiblehner, who "simply loves the way Christian Sturm plays soccer".

Live on site as a lucky charm

In the last league final, Scheiblehner even attended several Sturm victories live in Graz as a "lucky charm". Scheiblehner: "I'm incredibly pleased that Christian is so successful. He got the maximum out of Sturm last season. Now people are already talking about a small crisis, but after a double the tension drops, important players are gone and you have to be as greedy as before."