Lustenau coach Mader:

“I think Edi Stöhr has been brought back more often”

The "Krone" spoke to Austria Lustenau's new and old coach Markus Mader about a lot of frustration in the past year, the now greatly increased expectations and his ideas for the future. 

Just over a year after Markus Mader left Austria Lustenau, the coach has returned to the Green-Whites. And is now optimistic about the future.

Krone: Mr. Mader, could you have imagined that you would return to Austria after such a short time?
Markus Mader: No, on the contrary. It came as a great surprise. Lustenau normally plans long-term with a coach. But last fall probably didn't meet expectations, so the situation was different this time. But the fact that I could return to Austria at some point was already an option. The relationship between the club and myself has always been good. In addition, I think Edi Stöhr has been brought back more often.

Your return also seems to be a win-win situation for everyone involved.
That remains to be seen. My return has certainly raised expectations considerably. I do believe that it can be a win-win situation for all of us. But we have to work hard in the spring and make the right decisions.

Markus Mader wants to take many development steps with his team in the spring.(Bild: Austria Lustenau)

The players had a very poor fall, they lack self-confidence. How can you give them that back?
It will take patience, also for the coach. Every player has to know what he has to do. But we don't want to pigeonhole anyone, everything should be linked to personal responsibility. The players have to have confidence in themselves, then they can play soccer with fun and self-confidence. We also have a lot of young players in the squad - if they want to make a career for themselves, they have to take the next step now.

Last year was not a pleasant one for you, as you had been without a club since April. How did you experience this time?
To be honest, it was very frustrating. You try to stay calm, but self-doubt develops. You watch the coaching rotations and it's not great when the phone doesn't ring or nothing happens. I haven't been in the business that long, but now I've gotten to know the dark side of the business. That was an important experience for me."