Former team striker Grbic

End of the suffering! “Extremely difficult mentally”

Adrian Grbic (center) wants to find his scoring touch again at Luzern.(Bild: FC Luzern)

Former team striker Adrian Grbic experienced the toughest time of his career so far at Ligue 1 relegated Lorient. The Viennese had to keep himself fit in the summer. Now he is set for better times again at Swiss leaders Lucerne, where he was already on loan in the spring. 

"I already felt extremely comfortable here in the spring and felt the trust of the coach and those in charge. It's great that it worked out," says Adrian Grbic, who is now playing permanently at FC Luzern after a loan spell.

The "redemption" - Grbic left Lorient and signed permanently with Swiss leaders FCL.(Bild: FC Luzern)

Looking back: The striker was sidelined at Lorient, a record €10 million purchase in 2020, after the early days. Was loaned out three times. "When I came back in the summer, I had to train with other reserve players in a two-man team. Then that was also canceled," says the 28-year-old Viennese. "Some took individual coaches in Paris. I stayed in Lorient and kept fit on my own for a month: ergometer, weight room and specially designed sessions every day. It was extremely difficult for my head." His girlfriend gave him strength. "Lorient is not a big city, you can hardly distract yourself. That's why I'm even happier to be away." Despite being relegated from Ligue 1, the French club planned to loan him out again - to the Middle East. "They wanted to sign me somewhere. But I want to play 'seriously'." There were also talks with former club Rapid and sporting director Markus Katzer. "Being at home is always cool, of course. But I want to play abroad for as long as possible."

At some point, the Viennese ended up on the sidelines at Lorient.(Bild: AP/Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Now his full focus is on Lucerne, who host Young Boys Bern on Saturday. Grbic is not yet at 100 percent after missing training, but wants to be in the starting eleven soon. "I wasn't brought in for the bench," emphasizes the striker, who has been a wild card so far, and raves about the Swiss leaders in the "great city by the lake". Their fans are ecstatic, as they were during the 1:0 home win against Basel, when the beautiful Swisspor Arena was virtually sold out with 15,680 spectators. "Nobody expected first place. Now everyone is dreaming of the title. But that's a long way off. We have quality, a place in the top three is certainly possible. I want to contribute with my goals and make myself interesting again."

Adi scored four goals for the national team in the fall of 2020.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Also for the senior national team. The 2019 U21 European Championship starter was already involved from 2020 to 2021, scoring four goals in nine appearances. "Nobody can take that away from me. Although there were hardly any fans due to the coronavirus." He was all the more inspired by the atmosphere and performance at the EURO in the summer. "We showed what you can achieve together. I often had goosebumps."