Schicker pushes, but:

Sturm Graz still resists Ilzer transfer

Sturm Graz will not simply accept the quick transfer of coach Christian Ilzer to Hoffenheim.(Bild: GEPA)

Austria's soccer double winners are already experiencing the upcoming Black Week price battles - involuntarily. In Graz, the signs are pointing to a sell-out, TSG Hoffenheim are likely to help themselves to Sturm once again. TSG sporting director Andreas Schicker is negotiating a transfer of coach Christian Ilzer just a few weeks after his departure from Graz. The Bundesliga leaders are facing a short-term shortage of specialists, for which they actually wanted to be prepared.

Sturm confirmed ongoing "talks between all parties" on Wednesday. As things stand, the team from Graz do not want to let their successful coach and coaching staff - all of whom have contracts until the summer of 2026 - leave during the current fall season. While Sturm president Christian Jauk is trying to convince the coach, who is keen to move on, the media are already putting up price tags.

A transfer fee in the region of over two million euros would be due. Schicker himself went for around one million euros, after selling the Austrian national team player Alexander Prass, who had the momentum of the European Championship, to Hoffenheim for around 10 million euros plus bonuses.

"High up on the list"
The "Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft" (TSG) parted ways with coach Pellegrino Matarazzo at the beginning of the week amid acute danger of relegation. Schicker rejected the option of not signing Ilzer until the winter, according to the football magazine Kicker. "I want it to happen as quickly as possible," Schicker explained there and confirmed that Ilzer is one of the closest candidates: "Chris is high up on our list."

Andreas Schicker(Bild: APA/dpa/Uwe Anspach)

The man being wooed freely admitted on Tuesday that working at Hoffenheim with his confidant Schicker would appeal to him. "There is no right time (for a switch), but the moment seems good," Ilzer told the Kleine Zeitung after training, which he also led on Wednesday amid negotiations.

Schicker left for Hoffenheim on October 9, since when the important post of sporting director at Sturm has been vacant. The club's top management took their time with the search for a successor, but the dismissal of the coach in Hoffenheim has put pressure on them. Nevertheless, the club's management say that a new sporting director will not be presented before next week.

The fact that Sturm, after Schicker and technical director Paul Pajduch, could now also lose large parts of the coaching team to Hoffenheim is causing resentment in Graz. "I understand that this is being followed emotionally and viewed critically," explained Schicker. Such an approach is completely normal in other industries, he qualified, alongside words that were probably meant to be appreciative: "I still carry Sturm in my heart."

Press conference canceled
A press conference scheduled for Wednesday, at which the team from Graz wanted to present new economic success figures, was canceled the evening before with reference to the current situation. Sturm president Jauk, who has mostly been in the background of late, is currently more in demand than he has been for a long time. The CEO of the Grawe Banking Group did not want to comment on the Prima case for the time being when asked by APA.

If everything goes according to plan, Ilzer could make his debut as Hoffenheim coach on November 23 against RB Leipzig. At Sturm, a new sporting director, probably from Germany, could then be busy finding the right coach right from the start. In recent months, the double champions have often emphasized their desire to set up the club professionally independently of individuals. These statements are now being checked for their veracity.