SK Sturm Graz

SK Sturm Graz is a football (soccer) club from Austria.

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SK Sturm Graz is an Austrian football (soccer) club, based in Graz, Styria (state), playing in the Austrian Bundesliga. SK Sturm Graz was founded in 1909 and SK Sturm Graz colours are black and white.

So far, Sturm Graz has won the Austrian Football Championship twice (1998 and 1999) and participated several times in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup under the management of Ivica Osim.

History

Foundation

SK Sturm Graz were founded in 1909, as a working men's team (as opposed to their town neighbours Grazer AK, founded in 1902).

SK Sturm Graz first appeared in top-flight competition in the Gauliga Ostmark in 1942-43, coming last and being relegated.

1982 - First Success

The first great success of SK Sturm Graz was celebrated under manager Otto Baric, when SK Sturm Graz finished runners-up in the league in the 1982/3 season. A year later, SK Sturm Graz battled through to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, beaten only by Nottingham Forest through a dubious penalty in extra-time.

1992 - The Start of a new Era

In December 1992, Hannes Kartnig was installed as President, naming his close friend Heinz Schilcher as new manager. At the time, Sturm were languishing under enormous debts, a chronic lack of money and a general sporting malaise. Sturm qualified for the newly-formed Zehnerliga, and Kartnig and Schilcher decided the best course of action would be to abstain from big-name signings, and opt instead for a new start using young players from SK Sturm Graz's youth setup. In 1993 Milan Djuricic became manager, and together with his "kindergarten" team managed to stay up.

1994 to 2002 - Osim and European Football

In 1994, the Bosnian Ivica Osim took control of the up-to-now unsuccessful Sturm; this proved to be a crucial turning-point in SK Sturm Graz's history. Osim succeeded in producing an effective and powerful team using the young and inexperienced players at his disposal, strengthened with a few experienced leading players. The team's first success was as runners-up in the league in 1995; a year later, they won their first title, beating Admira Mödling in the cup-final, but wobbling in the league to finish runners-up yet again.

In 1998, SK Sturm Graz won their first Austrian Bundesliga title, pulling away from the field early on and winning the title with seven games in hand. Sturm set two records during this season; they remained unbeaten in their first twelve matches, and then for another nineteen matches later in the season. At the end of the season they amassed 81 points, an Austrian record total, winning the title with 19 points ahead of Rapid Vienna. This season also saw the development of the "magic triangle" of Mario Haas, Hannes Reinmayr and Ivica Vastic.

1999 saw SK Sturm Graz retain the title, securing the treble as they did so (league, cup and super cup), in addition to appearing in the qualification for the Champions League. Here, however, a scoreless draw with FC Spartak Moscow proved to be the only success. The 1999/2000 season saw Sturm in the Champions League for a second time, finishing third in their group. FC Tirol wrested the title from Sturm's grasp, but the runners-up spot achieved was sufficient for a third trip into the Champions League.

Sensationally, Sturm Graz won their Champions League Group D (against Galatasaray S.K., Rangers F.C. and AS Monaco FC), reaching the second round for the first time. The league campaign was less successful - a fourth place finish, the worst under Osim.

After their Champions League exploits, several key players out of the twelve who later left were not suitably replaced. Worse still, this hasty squad redevelopment devoured almost all the profit made from the European campaign. Only a small fraction of the money was invested in youth development, to establish an academy. Despite this, the newly assembled team again finished in second place in the league, but failed at the qualification hurdle for the Champions League. This, together with increasing criticism from the President precipitated the departure of Osim after eight years at the helm.

2002 to Present Day - Consolidation

Franco Foda and Gilbert Gress (7 defeats in 9 games) both enjoyed short and fruitless stints as coach, before former striker Mihailo Petrović (footballer) took control in autumn 2003. He presided over a gradual introduction of young talent, securing the team's place in the top flight in both 2004 and 2005, finishing in seventh spot.

In the season 2005/6, Sturm Graz took part in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, but were knocked out in the second round by VfL Wolfsburg from the German Fußball-Bundesliga.

Since 2005 Sturm Graz has been facing financial problems and on September 1, 2006 a petition of bankruptcy was filed by the tax authorities.

Stadium

The traditional home of SK Sturm Graz for many years was the Gruabn, which held over 12,000 people - almost exclusively standing - and which achieved cult status with many fans. The stadium was characterised by its narrow playing field, and the proximity of the fans to the players. From 1997 till 2005, Gruabn was used just as a training ground and for youth and amateur matches; in 2005 the ground was sold to the town of Graz to relieve SK Sturm Graz's financial difficulties. 1997 saw the move to the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium, shared between Sturm and their local rivals, Grazer AK. Since February 2006 the stadium is called UPC-Arena.

Achievements

- Austrian Football Bundesliga
- Austrian Cup
- Austrian Supercup
- Austrian Amateur Champions (1): 1934
- Styrian Regional Champions (11): 1921, 1923, 1925, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
- Styrian Cup Winners (9): 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
- UEFA Champions League (3): UEFA Champions League 1998–99, UEFA Champions League 1999–2000, UEFA Champions League 2000–01
- UEFA Cup (11): Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1970–71, UEFA Cup 1974–75, UEFA Cup 1978–79, UEFA Cup 1981–82, UEFA Cup 1983–84 (Quarter Final), UEFA Cup 1988–89, UEFA Cup 1991–92, UEFA Cup 1995–96, UEFA Cup 1999–2000 and UEFA Cup 2002–03
- UEFA Intertoto Cup (1): UEFA Intertoto Cup 2008 (Winners)

European records

As of December, 2008.

As of July 7, 2009

Out on loan

Famous players

- Franco Foda
- Ivica Vastic
- Giuseppe Giannini
- Darko Milanič
- Ranko Popović
- Kazimierz Sidorczuk
- Filip De Wilde

Manager History

- Otto Barić (1980-1982)
- Robert Pflug (1984)
- Hermann Stessl (1984-1985)
- Otto Barić (1988-1989)
- August Starek (1989-1991)
- Robert Pflug (1991-1992)
- Ladislav Jurkemik (1992-1993)
- Milan Djuricic (1993-1994)
- Ivica Osim (1994-2002)
- Franco Foda (2002-2003)
- Gilbert Gress (2003)
- Mihailo Petrović (footballer) (2003-2006)
- Franco Foda (2006-present)

Club Management

Administration

- President: Hans Rinner

Coaching Staff

- Coach: Franco Foda
- Asst. Coach: Thomas Gerstner
- Goalkeeping Coach: Kazimierz Sidorczuk
- Youth and Amateur Team Coach: Christian Peintinger

Austria Kärnten, FK Austria Wien, Kapfenberger SV, LASK Linz, SCR Altach, SK Rapid Wien, SK Sturm Graz, SV Mattersburg, SV Ried, SV Salzburg