In Klagenfurt

Disarmament service had to come before Sturm game!

There was a night-time intruder in the Klagenfurt European Championship Arena.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

The Champions League is not only a big challenge for Sturm in sporting terms, but also organizationally. Immediately after the Graz derby, the stress began for the club employees in Klagenfurt on Sunday. This time, the European Championship arena was even guarded at night. For good reason!

After the derby, which was perfectly organized by Sturm on Saturday, the big stress began again. By midday on Sunday, most of the office staff had already set off for Klagenfurt so that they could immediately start setting up for the match against Sporting Lisbon. The fact that Austria Klagenfurt were still playing at home against Austria on Sunday added to the time pressure.

"We were able to move into our office in Klagenfurt immediately after the final whistle, and UEFA's huge truck with various advertising materials and the like was already on site," said Sturm's head of security Bruno Hütter, whose birthday was on Saturday. "But because of all the work on Sunday, there was no real celebration this time."

Head of security Bruno Hütter and managing director Thomas Tebbich have a lot of work to do in Klagenfurt.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

Normally, the stadium has to be "clean", as UEFA calls it, two days before a Champions League match. This was not possible for the league match. "UEFA clarified this with the Bundesliga in advance and made an exception," says Hütter, who is on site with around 20 Sturm employees. In addition, there is a host of security staff on duty in the stadium, even at night.

We still don't know what the intruder was doing there. He ran away and unfortunately escaped.

Sturms Sicherheitschef Bruno Hütter

That wasn't the case at the first home game against Bruges. An unknown person promptly forced his way into the stadium at around two o'clock in the morning. Hütter: "We still don't know what he was doing there. He ran away and unfortunately got away."

Excellent judgment
To be on the safe side, the defusing service even had to arrive on match day to search the stadium for suspicious objects. "We have learned from this. This time, three security guards with dogs were on duty on both nights."

It was the only mishap at the first home game. Hütter: "UEFA rated our work in a foreign stadium as excellent."