Contact with CL winner

Austria could only afford Dragovic or Luiz

David Luiz (left) would have been very interested in a move to Austria. In the summer, however, Aleksandar Dragovic was presented as the "king transfer".(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Sports director Jürgen Werner wanted to bring the Brazilian David Luiz to Favoriten in the summer. The star defender was impressed by Vienna.

Portugal's sports newspaper "A Bola" got the ball rolling at the beginning of the year with the news that Austria officials had enquired about David Luiz and that the Brazilian could therefore return to Europe. "It's interesting that this news has only just popped up," winks Austria's sporting director Jürgen Werner.

Jürgen Werner(Bild: GEPA)

The 37-year-old's move to Favoriten is of course no longer an issue, but Violett were in contact with the Champions League winners in the summer. The link to Luiz was established via the manager of Austrias former loanee Cristiano, who returned to his native Brazil at the end of the year. The central defender wants to return to Europe and take his first steps as a coach there. "That's how we picked up the scent, David sounded very interested and raved about Vienna as the most liveable city in the world," says Werner. He and sporting director Manuel Ortlechner also had two Zoom conferences with Luiz. Before Flamengo didn't want to let the 57-time team player go because the club had to release many players for the Copa America.

Werner wanted to sign Luiz, who was planned as a regular but is currently without a club. However, a second attempt at a possible winter transfer was then off the table. "Because we were able to reach an agreement with Aleksandar Dragovic. Luiz wouldn't have played for free, of course, but the financial aspect wasn't the most important thing for him. But for us, only he or 'Drago' was affordable," says Werner. He praises his purple "king transfer" not only because of his strong competitive performances, but also because Austria's 100-time team kicker doesn't let up for a second at the training camp in Belek. "He's an absolute role model, incredibly professional and hungry. That gives me a lot of pleasure!"

Wustinger seriously injured again
While there is more bitter news from Florian Wustinger. The 21-year-old suffered his third cruciate ligament rupture in training after taking too long a step and has returned to Vienna. He only celebrated his comeback in October. "I feel particularly sorry for him because he was already doing very well again. But I told 'Wusti' that Gernot Trauner also had to struggle with a similar fate at his age and still had a remarkable career!"