Football: Rapid Bids Farewell to European Cup Against Zrinjski

The hopes of advancing have long since faded, for SK Rapid it is only about a respectable conclusion to a botched autumn season. As the point-less bottom of the Football Conference League, the Hütteldorf team will visit Zrinjski Mostar on Thursday (21.00/live Canal+). Green-White already had problems during the journey. The plane had to land in Dubrovnik due to weather conditions, from there the team of interim coach Stefan Kulovits continued to Mostar by bus.

Rapid recently without a win

Including a bus change at the Croatian-Bosnian border, the arrival of the Rapid team in Mostar was delayed by several hours. Around 20.00 it was finally time, and the final training session still took place. However, Rapid currently has more serious problems in other areas. Three defeats and the draw on Sunday at Bundesliga bottom team Blau-Weiß Linz have been recorded by the club under Kulovits, in the Conference League the Green-Whites have five defeats. Nevertheless, over 500 Rapid fans will travel to support the team in the fight against the red lantern in Europe. For Kulovits, it could be the last game as head coach for the time being.

"We are going to Mostar to end the year reasonably well, so that we can say goodbye to the year with a win. We will approach this very actively, with and against the ball. We will make sure to achieve our goal with offense," Kulovits set the course.

Zrinjski can advance

Zrinjski is in second place in the domestic league behind Borac Banja Luka and is still in the race for advancement to the play-off in the Conference League after two wins. Rapid has already faced Borac this year, advancing after extra time in the second leg in the Conference League round of 16. "In terms of playing strength, I estimate them (note: Zrinjski) to be similar to Banja Luka. Therefore, we know what to expect. It will be a seasoned, very combative team that has its qualities in possession. We will try to take that away from them," analyzed Kulovits.

The green-white interim coach must do without the yellow-card suspended captain Matthias Seidl at the nine-time Bosnian champion, and full-back Bendeguz Bolla is out due to illness. At Zrinjski, two professionals with an Austrian background could play. Stefano Surdanovic, who grew up in Upper Austria, moved from Austria Lustenau to Mostar in the summer of 2024, and former Rieder Leo Mikic also came from Lustenau last summer.

(APA/Red)

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