What United can expect from Austrian minnows
MOST United fans will be expecting their side to breeze through their two-legged Europa League tie with Austrian side LASK, even if they won’t be able to attend the game, which is being played behind closed doors.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has already sounded a warning about the Linz-based outfit, who have already beaten Sporting Libson, AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven.
M.E.N. Sport spoke to Austrian journalist Harald Bartl, Senior Football Writer for OO Nachrichten based in Linz, about the club, their recent successes and how much a tie against United means...
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HOW MUCH EUROPEAN PEDIGREE DO LASK HAVE?
ALMOST none in the last 20 years. Only one game against Steaua
Bucharest in 1999 and then last season in 2018/19, beating Lillestrom and losing to Besiktas. LASK are a small but well-planned miracle. Six years ago they played in the third tier of Austrian football, and were close to bankruptcy when the new ownership group took over.
The most important figure in that is Jurgen Werner, the LASK Vice president who is a former players’ agent.
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HOW HAVE THEY BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL RECENTLY?
ON the pitch, the key is their 3-4-3 system, a bit unusual, very aggressive, running intense with pressing, that was hard to play for the opponents. They have had almost the same team for years, several players came up with them from the Austrian second tier.
The architect of their rise, former manager Oliver Glasner, now coaches German side Wolfsburg. Not only the results, also the performances have been really strong in the Europa League this season.
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WHICH PLAYERS COULD CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR UNITED?
STRIKER Marko Raguz is the player of the moment who scores most of the goals. LASK have right-winger Thomas Goiginger out with a bad injury at the moment and that hurts a lot.
Keeper Alex Schlager has become the No.1 Austrian national team keeper.
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WHAT HAS BEEN THE REACTION TO PLAYING UNITED?
IT is the game of the century for LASK fans. People here always talk about the 1-0 win at home vs Inter Milan in 1985. They lost the second game 4-0 then. But this one is even bigger.