SK Sturm Graz

SK Sturm Graz
society
Surname	Sturm Graz Sports Club
Seat	Graz , Styria
founding	May 1, 1909 (as the Graz soccer club "Sturm" )
Colours	black and white
Members	2,585 (as of 2018)
president	Christian Jauk
ZVR number	863546484
Football company
Surname	SK Sturm Sportbetriebe GmbH
Shareholder	100%: Association (via two subsidiaries)
Managing directors	Andreas Schicker (Sports) Thomas Tebbich (Business)
Website	sksturm.at
First team
Head coach	Christian Ilzer
Venue	Mercury Arena
Places	16,364
league	Bundesliga
2019/20	6th place
home Away Alternatively

Cup winner team 2010 of SK Sturm Graz

The Sturm Graz Sports Club (officially the Puntigamer Sturm Graz Sports Club through sponsorship ), SK Sturm Graz for short or simply Sturm Graz , is a football club from the Styrian capital Graz . The club plays in the first-class Bundesliga , the amateur team in the third-class Regionalliga Mitte , and the women's team in the ÖFB Women's Bundesliga . The home of SK Sturm Graz has been the Merkur Arena in the Liebenau district since 1997 , the amateurs play in the Messendorf training center . The club colors are black and white. The Graz brewery Puntigam has been the club's main sponsor since 1996.

The statute-based establishment of the Graz football club "Sturm" took place on March 31, 1912 in the Hotel Goldene Birn , whereby the founding members had been running the game as a loose football team since May 1, 1909. Since an athletics and handball section was also created from February 1920 , the name was changed to the Graz sports club “Sturm” in January of the same year . Today there is only the original football club, including the amateur team and youth, which has called itself SK Sturm Graz since the 1950s and is usually only known by this name.

The club's greatest successes were winning the Austrian football championship in the 1997/98, 1998/99 and 2010/11 seasons. The club achieved international fame primarily through its participation in the Champions League seasons 1998/99, 1999/2000 and 2000/01 , in which the second group stage could be reached.

The professional game operation has been outsourced to SK Sturm Sportbetriebe GmbH , the sole shareholder of which is SK Sturm sales & communication GmbH , which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of the club's own SK Sturm Wirtschaftsbetriebe GmbH .

history

1909–1918 - early years

The SK Sturm Graz was founded on May 1st, 1909 in the Gasthaus Schafzahl in the Pestalozzistraße in Graz as the Graz football club Sturm in the immediate vicinity of the Augarten. According to legend, the storm that is said to have prevailed in Graz on the day it was founded was the inspiration for the name of the new club. However, the name was probably chosen based on the then renowned Czech club DBC Sturm Prague , which was a guest in Graz on April 18 and 19, 1909.

At first, Sturm was a small community of students between the ages of 16 and 18. The then high school student and very first "President" of SK Sturm, Karl Assmann , remembered the founding day in a festival magazine in 1934:

“ There was of course no own sports field. The Augarten was our battlefield, the Schönbacher house in Neuholdaugasse was our clubhouse. We were not blessed with earthly goods. But we had a completely unrestrained enthusiasm for sports, friends in our games and an indomitable will to advance as a footballer. Under such really difficult conditions we fought through the years until an older comrade opposite us boys - the philosopher Arnold Schmidt - poured our combative team into the club form. "

- Karl Assmann, 1934

The Augarten in Graz in December 2008

With the entry of Arnold Schmidt, who until then was chairman of the Grazer Sportvereinigung (GSV), a club spirit emerged for the first time, which, according to Karl Assmann, created the Graz soccer club "Sturm" from the young Sturm team . The meeting in which the accession to the German-Alpine Football Association , the predecessor of today's Styrian Football Association , as well as the foundation of the association took place in March 1912 on Schmidt's initiative. The first official chairman was Ing.Longin, the first captain was Franz Schönbacher. Thanks to the chairman of the GSV , the club was able to train on Sundays and weekdays on its place, as there was no sports field of its own.

On November 14, 1909, Sturm's first game with media coverage took place, and the next day the Grazer Tagblatt reported about a “surprising young storm team”. The opponent was a GSV team made up of the second and third team. The game ended in a 3-3 draw. On November 28, 1909, Sturm lost a match against GSV II 10-2.

From 1910 the place of the sports association in the Fröhlichgasse was the permanent venue of Sturm. The first game against a non-Graz club took place at the place of the Grazer AK (GAK) founded in 1902 in the Körösistraße. The opponent was Concordia Agram from Zagreb , which at that time was still part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy . After a hard-fought game, Sturm won 2-1. Numerous games, including against the GAK, against Rapid Graz , the Klagenfurt AC and Germania Graz , followed.

The association's first logo: the storm flag

In 1912/13 the first (amateur) championship of the German-Alpine Football Association took place. The participants were Rapid Graz , Sturm Graz , Grazer SV , the Amateurs Graz and the German SK . Sturm won this championship three points ahead of Rapid Graz . Storm was also able to win this championship in the 1913/14 season.

In 1914, shortly before the start of the First World War , the young Sturm team was able to score 0-0 against the GAK and was rewarded with the award of first class . However, the Austrian Football Association (ÖFV) [today the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB)] demanded a game against a Viennese professional club so that the first class could be officially valid. The outbreak of war prevented this game from being played, so Sturm remained second class. Numerous Sturm players had to go to war in 1914 and fell. The Graz team were still one of the few clubs that were able to keep playing during the war. Co-founder Arthur Longin, who was not in the war, organized the games with numerous others.

The Grazer SV broke up quickly after the start of the war, players of the sports association then switched to Sturm. However, SK Sturm soon lacked a venue, as the GSV pitch was unplayable due to the war.

1919–1924 - First homestead, excellence and success

Shortly after the end of the war, at Christmas 1918, the black and whites already gathered in the Berghaus sports café on Graz's Radetzky Bridge . In 1919, the then Sturm player Michael Höller jr. the idea of ​​using the meadow on the corner of Jakominigürtel / Klosterwiesgasse, which his father had leased from the city of Graz, as a new Sturm-Platz. Together with Anton Berghaus, Karl Schönbacher and Rudolf Jäger, he negotiated with his father; finally Michael Höller sen. to. The adaptation to the sports field was tackled immediately with financial support from the Austrian Football Association and the State Office for Social Health. The own Sturm-Platz, later better known as Gruabn , was born. Karl Assmann remembered this time:

“ Today, when we see our goal of 1909 almost achieved, where a group of students and other disciples became a respectable sports community, we only have one task: to contribute to broadening the idea of ​​sports. We all believe that through physical exercise of all kinds, our hard-tested people will be able to survive this shameful time. […] The only secret lies in the word loyalty to the club colors black and white! "

- Karl Assmann, 1919

First home of SK Sturm: The Sturm-Platz , known today as Gruabn

On April 20, 1919, Hakoah was the first Viennese club to host Sturm. Sturm lost just 2: 3, which at the time was almost like a victory, as professional football was happening in Vienna at the time. The next day, the young, ambitious Sturm-Elf defeated the Viennese 1-0. On July 20, 1919, the German-Alpine Football Association finally declared Sturm in the spring of 1919 to be first class, but the true professional operation took place in the football scene in Vienna.

On February 15, 1920, the annual general meeting took place in the Schwechat beer hall in Grazer Herrengasse . Since a handball and athletics section (including a women's handball group) was founded in addition to the football section with the fighting team, reserve, youth and students , the club was now called the Graz sports club “Sturm” .

In the 1920/21 season, the first regular Styrian football championship was held. The participants were the GAK , Sturm and the Workers Athletics Club (AAC). The second division consisted of the amateurs , Hakoah Graz , Rapid Graz , Gösting and the GSV . After a 1-0 win over the GAK, Sturm became the first official Styrian champion.

Logo after renaming to Grazer Sportklub "Sturm"

In 1921/22 Sturm defeated the GAK 3-2, against SC Wacker Wien (2-2), the Vienna Associationfootball Club (WAF) (1-1) and Germania Wien (2-0), Sturm also remained undefeated. In the decisive game against the GAK in the spring of 1922, the black and whites lost 2-0. The GAK was Styrian champion, Sturm came second.

In the 1922/23 season, Sturm won four derbies against the GAK and was ultimately Styrian champion again . A rivalry that continues to this day developed with this GAK, who was seven years older than Sturm, and was considered a “Nobel Club”, which the journey to the game against Sturm in 1921 with Fiakern should prove. On July 6, 1923, the Viennese and Austrian football champions SK Rapid made a guest appearance at Sturm and presented the pennant to the Styrian master Sturm Graz in old friendship, the Rapid Vienna sports club . Sturm lost 1: 3 in this game. At the beginning of 1923, the former national player Josef Haist was hired as the first full-time coach in the club's history.

In 1923/24, two games (on July 20 and 26, 1924) between Sturm and the GAK decided the dispute over the Styrian championship title, as inconsistencies arose from unauthorized players. The GAK won the first game 3-0, the second match ended in a 2-2 draw. The GAK thereby won the championship. The professional league prevailed in Vienna, the Styrian Football Association , which emerged from the German-Alpine Football Association , initially remained in a league at the amateur level. From now on, however, the association held an annual championship. In autumn 1924, Sturm won the Graz trade fair trophy ahead of Hakoah Graz, the GAK and Kapfenberg .

1925–1929 - The VAFÖ brings the first crisis

In 1925, Sturm won the (annual) championship title, which was achieved prematurely with a 4-2 win against the GAK on September 27, 1925. In 1926, Sturm brought in his very first legionnaire. The technically strong Hungarian Strakovics is moving from Kaposvár to Graz. The final table in 1926, in which Sturm finished second, was severely shortened. This year the Free Association of Amateur Football Associations Austria (VAFÖ) was founded, in which the four clubs Südbahn Graz , AAC Graz , Rapid Graz and Admira Graz participated and were eliminated from the Styrian championship.

In 1927 there was a crisis in the SK Sturm for the first time. The annual general meeting should clarify whether Sturm should join the VAFÖ or not. The press reported on January 12, 1927:

“ So far we have managed to run the club in a uniform, non-political way. Recently, however, individual members of the club, probably blinded by promises and tempted by employment in companies run by Social Democrats, stepped out of the reserve and started an open agitation to transfer to the VAFÖ camp. [...] Your goal is to win a real top club and a sports field that is particularly conveniently located in the city. [...] But it is to be hoped that even today the majority of club members take the position that comprehensive, truly free sporting activities are only possible with the elimination of all politics. At the annual general meeting on January 15, 1927, it will be decided whether the Sp.C. Sturm remains connected to the large community of European sports clubs that play football or whether he prefers to go to the VAFÖ clubs. What is at stake is clear enough. "

- Press article : January 12, 1927

At the annual general meeting, Karl Assmann proposes to change § 1 of the association's statutes as follows: Party-political tendencies are excluded, the association is completely independent. The previous section head Fritz Klima, however, said that Sturm in the VAFÖ could get hold of the movement there. Max Spurny refused this, however, and emphasized that Hugo Meisl was sent by the ÖFB and that Sturm had promised monetary and competition support if Sturm did not switch to VAFÖ. At the end of the meeting, Sturm refused to join the VAFÖ. In the Styrian championship in 1927, the club came second again.

The championship 1928/29 took place seasonally again, again the SK Sturm was runner-up, but before the strengthened Grazer Sportklub Straßenbahn , which attracted players with a permanent position in the uncertain financial time.

The following year, the tram drivers managed to overtake Sturm, the black and whites finished third in the championship. A derby between the GAK and Sturm on October 27, 1929 became known this season. A newspaper article called this game the battle in Körösistraße ; only in the 73rd minute the GAK managed to score the final 1-0 victory. One GAK player and two Sturm players are excluded, three black and white players and one athlete have to leave the field injured.

1930–1939 - amateur state championship, crisis in 1934 and annexation of Austria

At the beginning of the 1930s, the officer of the kuk - Kriegsmarine Franz Reistenhofer , a wine wholesaler and vermouth manufacturer, came back to Graz after serving in the First World War in Istria to expand his business. Rudolf Resner from the Financial Directorate was president of the association. In the Styrian championship Donawitz came to the Styrian upper house for the first time . Coach Bruno Skasa left Sturm for Naples . At the annual general meeting, Skasa suddenly reappeared and returned to the coaching position. The highlight of the season was the 5-2 derby win against the GAK on June 7th this year in Körösistraße.

In the championship 1930/31 Sturm was only because of the worse goal difference behind the GAK runner-up. The growing sports club in Graz was relegated to third place. In 1931/32, section head Josef Plendner steered Max Lamoth from the GAK to Sturm. This should be the start of a very successful career. Sturm was runner-up again. For this, Sturm won the Styrian Cup, which was played for the first time.

In 1934 the west stand of the Gruabn was roofed over

The following season was not marked by success and brought fourth place behind the GAK, the Grazer Sportclub and the Kastner & Öhler operating team . Winning the Styrian Cup was a small consolation. Josef Plendner rose from section head to president, since President Resner was elected as the Styrian association president.

In the 25-year anniversary season of 1933/34, Franz Reistenhofer, together with Karl Assmann, Josef Mößlacher and Josef Plendner, succeeded in bringing Sturm the very first sponsor. A community of interests was concluded with the sports and art association Kastner & Öhler (which was now called FC Graz ) for the purpose of expanding the Sturm-Platz . Thanks to the merchant Franz Öhler and others, a roofed west stand and extended standing room could be realized. In addition, four tennis courts were built to the west of the grandstand and the storm tennis section was founded. The new Sturm-Platz was opened in time for the start of the spring season. For the first time since 1925, Sturm managed to become Styrian champion again. In addition, Sturm became Austrian amateur champions with a 4-0 and 6-4 win against Austria Klagenfurt , a 1-1 and 4-1 win against St. Pölten and a 2-1 and 2-0 win against SAK 1914 in the final.

→ Match dates of the finals for the amateur championship 1933/34 .

In the following season 1934/35, despite reinforcements, another slump followed. Goalkeeper Jesenitschnig from Südbahn Graz , Karl Sever and defender Franz Schopp , the grandfather of the later self-made and team player Markus Schopp , came to the club. These already played in the amateur state championship, in which Karl Sever scored both goals in the final first leg against SAK.

Sturm Graz recovered from the "crisis year 1934" and was the first provincial club in the ÖFB Cup quarter-finals in the spring of 1936 , but was defeated by Libertas 2: 3 despite a 2-0 half-time lead . Sturm had previously outclassed Heimhilfe Wien 9-0 and reached the quarter-finals against Libertas with a 3-2 win against Hakoah Wien . In the Styrian Cup, Sturm defeated arch rivals GAK 3-2. Also in the Styrian championship you could sit in front of the GAK thanks to the better goal difference and became champions. Only the amateur state championship title was denied. Despite a 6-1 win against Wiener Neustadt, Sturm lost 6-0 in the second leg.

→ Match dates of the finals for the amateur championship 1935/36 .

Sturm was able to defend his Styrian championship title in 1937, this time six points ahead of Donawitz . Striker Pevny switched from Libertas Vienna to Sturm, Karl Schneider left Graz for Vienna. The Styrian national cup went again to the SK Sturm, in the Austrian Cup the black and whites were eliminated in the second round against Vienna with 0: 5. The voices in Austria to hold a national championship became louder and louder. Football expert Hugo Meisl worked out the first plans for such a championship. His sudden death in 1937 hit the whole of Austria's football club. Meisl's suggestions were accepted only hesitantly. The ÖFB finally decided that the Graz black and whites had to play two relegation games against the Viennese clubs SC Simmering (1: 2/3: 4) and Helfort (5: 4/1: 5). The promotion to the Vienna league, the Austrian championship at the time, failed.

On September 5, 1937, Grazer SC and Sturm Graz opened the new sports club site in Conrad-von-Hötzendorf-Strasse. The square that was opposite today's town hall was state-of-the-art at the time. The teams parted with a 2-2 draw. In the championship of 1937/38, with the runner-up title behind the sports club, which was allowed to move into the Vienna Gauliga instead of Sturm, it went reasonably well for Sturm.

Immediately after the Anschluss on March 12, 1938 , the Jewish association SC Hakoah disappeared (and, unlike its brother from Vienna , it was not re-established after the war ). Also, the FC Graz (Kastner & Ohler) gave up as sponsor Franz Ohler had to leave as a Jew the country. When regular football was possible again, Sturm was able to win the Styrian Cup donated by the Kleine Zeitung for the fifth time. After joining the German Reich, the Ostmark became Sportgau 17 of the National Socialist Reich Association for physical exercise . The resulting changes had an effect. Sturm got new, loyal presidents who were now called "club leaders". From 1939 this was Josef Türk, from 1942 Karl Geisler, who was also the sports district leader for Styria. In Vienna, professional football was completely abolished and integrated into the German league system.

The five best Styrian and Carinthian teams were combined in the District League South . The Graz sports club played as Styrian champions in the Gau class with Viennese, Lower and Upper Austrian clubs. The district championship South 1938/39 ended Sturm in second place. In the Tschammerpokal they defeated the GAK with 2: 1, Gratkorn with 6: 1 and Reichsbahn Graz with 3: 2. However, Sturm lost the Styrian final against the sports club 0-2.

At the beginning of the Second World War , the Styrian autumn championship of the 1939/40 season started again late without Carinthia. However, there should be a playoff for the southern championship against the Carinthian champions. The sports club that dominated the Styrian War Championship eventually won the championship and the southern championship game against Villacher SV . Sturm was runner-up again. In the Tschammerpokal, Sturm Post Graz (7: 1), Rosental (4: 2) and the GAK (5: 2) defeated, in the Styrian Cup final the sports club (4: 1) and met the Viennese WAC (7: 3) and SK Admira Wien (9: 0). These victories were followed by the first main round against a team from the "Altreich". On August 18, 1940 1. FC Nürnberg played on Sturm-Platz. However, Sturm had no chance and lost 6-1.

1940–1949 - War years, winning streak and entry into the state league

After the success in the Tschammer Cup in 1940, a very successful 1940/41 season followed. Sturm won the Styrian championship with only three loss points. In the battle for the district champion south, the Blackies won against Villacher SV at home with 5: 3, but the away game was lost with 0: 2, which is why a play-off on neutral ground was necessary. Graz won the District Championship South with a decisive 5-0 victory in Donawitz.

→ Match dates for the finals for the district champion South 1940/41 .

Now Sturm had to play a promotion tournament in the area class. BSG Traisen was defeated 3-0 in the first game, followed by an 8-2 win against Austria Salzburg and a 3-2 win against Postsport Vienna . That meant promotion to the division class.

→ Game dates of the promotion final game in the division class 1941/42 .

In 1941/42 the SK Sturm played in a league with the major Viennese clubs. In twelve games he achieved three wins against the much stronger Viennese. On May 8, 1942, the club had to resign due to a lack of players, but received the right to play again in the 1942/43 season. Club leader Karl Geisler and the rest of the Sturm officials overlooked the fact that Sturm was too weak for the division league. Nevertheless, the club management wanted to make use of the right to participate in this league at all costs. In 1943, the Vienna Football Department prevented a "war marriage" between SK Sturm and SG Reichsbahn Wien . So the black and white had to fill his small squad with loan players from Grazer SV , front vacationers, guest players and juniors. At the end of the season Sturm was in last place; only one draw was compared to 19 defeats and zero wins. The 0-0 draw against Wacker Vienna was subsequently revoked from Sturm. Only six years later, Sturm should return to the top division.

In 1943/44 the SK Sturm had to participate again in the Styrian championship, which was played in groups due to the travel. Sturm, in Group A, scored 18 points from 14 games and finished fourth. The Second World War did not stop at Graz either. On St. Joseph's Day 1944, the Allies bombed the area around the Jakomini belt, the exhibition grounds and the industrial hall (today's town hall). The Sturmplatz was also hit, and a bomb hit the south gate.

The following season 1944/45 would be the last season in wartime. Sturm reached third place, winning among other things against the sports club in danger of disintegration with 10-0, whose stadium opposite today's town hall was destroyed by the aerial bombs. Sturm managed to set up a powerful team that won four championship titles and cup victories in the following seasons. On June 3, 1945, the first football game took place in Graz after the war. SK Sturm Graz and Südbahn Graz (during the war the association was called Reichsbahn Graz ) met at the renovated Sturm-Platz. Sturm won the game just 4: 3. In the fight for the Liberation Cup, eight teams competed from July 1, 1945. In addition to Sturm, these were Südbahn, GAK, Eggenberg , ASV Gösting , Post SV , Admira Graz and Grazer SV . In the final, Sturm and Südbahn fought to win the cup. A 1-1 draw was enough for Sturm. The first competition in liberated Austria was won.

Josef Plendner was elected the first chairman after the war and Sturm had a great series of victories. The black and whites remained undefeated until the spring of 1946. 1945/46 succeeded the first of four doubles. Sturm was champion before SV Südbahn and in the cup finals the sports club was beaten 1: 1 after extra time and a 3: 0 victory. The highlight of the season was a draw in a game against Austria Wien. The desire for a competition with the Viennese clubs grew louder and louder; Even from Vienna there was little by little in favor of this request by the “Provincial Club”.

In 1946/47 Josef Molzer was hired as a trainer. In addition to Molzer, who had played for Vienna and Austria Wien in the 1930s, two other Viennese came to Graz: Otto Denk (Wacker Vienna) and Ludwig Durek ( FC Wien ). Above all, Durek's transfer was a sensation, as it was not customary at the time for a Viennese professional footballer to move to what was then the “football province”. Molzer formed an apparently unbeatable team from Sturm Graz. Between 1946 and 1949 Sturm lost only eight of 68 points games, in the cup competitions Sturm remained undefeated.

→ Game dates of the Styrian Cup final 1946/47 .

In the Austrian Cup 1947/48, the black and whites were only defeated in the final of Vienna Austria 2-0, and Sturm won the championship again before SV Kapfenberg .

→ Match dates for the ÖFB Cup Final 1947/48 and the Styrian Cup Final 1947/48 .

In the summer of 1948, the ÖFB founded a state league association , which existed on an equal footing with the nine state associations. For the first time, an “all-Austrian state league”, consisting of the ten clubs of the Vienna League and the champions of Styria, Upper Austria and Lower Austria, was being considered. In 1948/49 Sturm again won the championship in front of SV Kapfenberg. The entry into the state league was made, the black and white were the first Styrian state league club. The Styrian Cup went to Sturm again; Only in the fourth final match Sturm defeated Austria Graz .

→ Game dates of the Styrian Cup final 1948/49 .

The first state league season 1949/50 started on August 28, 1949. 11,000 fans flocked to Sturm-Platz, with Vienna as a guest . It was not easy for Sturm to switch from the Styrian amateur league to the new (semi) professional league, and the "premiere game" was lost 6-1. At the end of the season, Sturm was in tenth place.

1950–1959 - Second class and expansion of Sturm-Platz

From the summer of 1950, the State League Association introduced, in addition to the first-class State League A, a second-class, also professionally run State League B , which only had members from Vienna , Lower Austria , Burgenland , Upper Austria and Styria . Masters Austria Graz , Kapfenberg and the GAK rose from the Styrian League to this State League B.

Sturm, in the State League A , presented the newcomer Robert Niederkirchner . Under the player- coach Ludwig Durek , Sturm barracked himself before the game against Vienna in the 10th round for the first time in the club's history. However, the club was not satisfied with the coach Durek, which is why on January 5, 1951, at the general assembly in the Steirerhof, Johann Czernicky was presented as the new coach. Durek stayed with the club as a player. At the end of the season, Sturm finished seventh out of 13 participants.

The 1951/52 season brought Sturm and the GAK back the Grazer Derby, as the athletes were allowed to move up to the A-League as second in the B-League. After two rounds and two 1-0 victories, Sturm was the first in the club's history to be the leader of an Austrian league, but by the end of the season the club fell back to eighth place. Sturm started the new season 1952/53 with a new coach, the 32-year-old Karl Decker . He was actually brought in as a striker, but he has not yet been released and so he was initially hired as a coach, as the previous coach Czernicky had migrated to Germany. At the end of the season, Sturm ended up in 9th place.

After the following season 1953/54 Sturm had to go to the State League B. Only six victories meant place 13 out of 14. In addition, Sturm had money problems, the Decker engagement blocked the finances. In 1954/55 Karl Decker, who could not gain a foothold in the storm, landed in France at FC Sochaux . After a mutiny in the winter of 1954, the contract with coach Gerdov was dissolved again and on February 9, 1955, the 38-year-old Hans Gmeindl was hired as the new coach, but after the season he had enough of the coaching business. Before that, he was still champion of the State League B with Sturm and rose again to the A-League.

With Rudolf Strittich from July to December 1955 and Josef Blum from January 1956, the team was again presented with two new coaches in a very short time. Two of his own talents were awarded to the sports club in the B league, for which Sturm brought among others the 35-year-old veteran Josef Meszaros and the 22-year-old talent Helmut Senekowitsch , who would later become the ÖFB team boss. The "return season" 1955/56 ended the SK Sturm in 10th place in the table.

In the summer of 1956, the Sturm-Elf was changed significantly. Eight players left the team, five newcomers and the young players filled their gaps. With an average age of just 22 years, Sturm was the youngest team in the league. In October '56 rumors circulated that Sturm would have to stop gaming due to excessive debts. President Schlösser replied: “It's not true!” On November 10th, a sensation was achieved when SK Sturm celebrated its first championship win against SK Rapid . In March 1957, the 4,500 fans on Sturm-Platz heard Sturm's voice for the first time in the 5-4 win against Admira Vienna . Radio presenter Günther Schrey was active as a place speaker. That would be him for 39 years until 1995. The season 1956/57 ended Sturm finally in 12th place.

1957/58 Helmut Senekowitsch was called up as the first national team player of the SK Sturm to join the Austrian national team. The season went badly for Sturm with seven wins from 26 games. The club landed on the penultimate place in the table and had to relegate again. Due to the construction work at Sturmplatz, which was funded by the State League with 230,000 schillings, Sturm had to move to the new federal stadium in Liebenau until further notice . The season was overshadowed by the death of co-founder Karl Assmann. On May 31, 1959, Sturm-Platz was inaugurated with the 3-1 win against FC Stadlau . The ÖFB-Cup was played again, Sturm lost to the GAK in Liebenau with a score of 0: 1. At the end of the 1958/59 season, Sturm was in fourth place.

In the summer of '59 the State League divided the B-League into a B-League East and a B-League Middle. Shortly thereafter, the B-leagues were renamed Regionalliga Ost and Regionalliga Mitte. In: which SK Sturm played. The 1959/60 season ended Sturm in 5th place in the table.

1960–1969 - Final return to the House of Lords, first main sponsor

The club was still in need of money. After Janos Szep had terminated the coaching contract with the GAK, the supporters' club of the SK Sturm decided to start a collection campaign to finance Szep, which was crowned with success. On July 21, 1960, he took up his new position at Sturm. In the second-rate regional league season 1960/61, the black-whites dueled with the red-whites from Kapfenberg. The Böhlerstädter always had a nose-length lead and were Regionalliga-Mitte champions in 1961, six points ahead of Sturm.

In July 1961, President Wilhelm Schlösser presented Gustl Rumpf, a new trainer. After the rise of Kapfenberg in the previous season and because no team from the state league was relegated, Sturm was considered the favorite for the championship title in 1961/62. After five laps, Sturm was already top of the table with ten points ahead of their first rival Wels . In the hit on October 15, 1961, Sturm lost 3-1 at home to Wels, which was followed by a 1-0 defeat at WSG Radenthein a week later , and in the end, Sturm was only sixth in the table; With 28 points, the black and whites were eleven points behind champions Austria Klagenfurt , who had clearly won the title ahead of Wels (33 points). In the ÖFB Cup, Graz was able to eliminate the traditional national league club First Vienna FC 1894 4: 3 in the first round (at the same time the sixteenth-finals) , but then on April 11, 1962, record champions Rapid were to be fought away, and with a 1 : 2 was the end of the line.

The foundation stone for today's club newspaper Sturm Echo was laid in the summer of 1962 when a club magazine was first published under the name Sportprogramm , which is still the oldest of its kind in Austria. In 1962/63, SV Kapfenberg was back in the regional league as a relegated state. Again there was the duel Sturm against Kapfenberg for promotion to the state league and again Sturm was runner-up behind the Böhlerstädtern. The cup was over for the Graz team after the second round against Simmering (home 1: 2 on February 16, 1963). In the following year, however, Sturm managed to return to the State League A. With one point ahead of Austria Klagenfurt they became champions (the matches against each other had ended with a victory for the home team), in the cup the club failed in round three against Kapfenberg (2: 3- Home defeat on June 3, 1964). On May 8, 1963, Josef Soral succeeded President Schlösser after nine years.

In 1964/65, Sturm played in Austria's top league for the first time in six years. At first it was possible to keep up, but the spring of 1965 was marked by the relegation battle, together with Kapfenberg and the GAK, against the Viennese clubs WAC and Wacker Wien. GAK and Kapfenberg made it with 20 points each, Sturm had to return to the Regionalliga with 19 points (in goal difference they were better with 29:40 than the rescued with 25:45 Kapfenberg and 28:48 GAK). In the summer of 1965, the State League Association was dissolved and replaced by the newly founded National League , which was directly subordinate to the ÖFB , and revenue sharing was also abolished. From now on, the clubs collected their own income. The immediate re-emergence succeeded, Sturm was in the Regionalliga Mitte champion before the Styrian local rival Donawitz.

SK Sturm returned to the Austrian House of Lords from autumn 1965 (after a year of absence), where it still plays today. After Rapid and Austria Wien , both of which have been in the highest Austrian league since 1911/12, Sturm is the oldest non-Viennese club in today's Bundesliga. The Graz team almost had to go back to the lower house, because at the end of the season they stayed in the top league with 18 points each thanks to the better goal difference (32:47) ahead of Wacker Vienna (28:50), with SK Sturm in the last round (June 24th) met the GAK, of all people, who gave nothing, but won 1-0 (in contrast, Wacker won 6-1 against relegated Kapfenberg, who was therefore unable to provide any support).

In the summer of 1967 a year-long “tradition” changed, according to which the city rival GAK was able to sign all Styrian talents. In this transfer time, Sturm was able to tie some Styrian players to himself for the first time with Helmut Huberts , Anton Celestina , Robert Kaiser and Walter Peintinger . And the new coach, the multiple national player Karl Kowanz , came from city rivals GAK . In 1967/68 the Graz team ended up in seventh place, but coach Kowanz was already on leave at the end of October 1967 (after the 4-0 home win against Linz ASK on October 29) and was replaced by Gerdi Springer from Klagenfurt .

First main sponsor: the building materials company Durisol

In May 1968, Sturm reported a sensation that was solid for the time. The building materials and brick company Durisol became the main sponsor of SK Sturm and paid 300,000 schillings per year. From now on the club was called SK Sturm Durisol Graz , because the sponsor name was included in the club name. Sturm was the first Oberhaus club to do so. On November 15, 1968, the Graz team played on the Hütteldorfer Pfarrwiese against Rapid Vienna for the autumn championship title 1968/69 and lost 2: 5. On December 4, 1968, the international premiere in the Mitropacup against Vasas rose in Budapest , Sturm lost to the Hungarians 3: 4 and in the second leg on February 18, 1969 in Graz with 1: 2. The next premiere took place on May 23, 1969, when the game Sturm vs. Rapid (2-1) was broadcast directly on television . With fifth place behind LASK (with 31 points each, Upper Austrians had the better goal difference with 38:33 compared to 33:29) Sturm just missed the Messestädte Cup qualification.

In July 1969, Sturm reported two important transfers. Ernst Hölzl came from Donawitz and Heinz Schilcher from GAK. Together with Austria Wien, the Wiener Sportklub , Rapid Wien and Wacker Innsbruck , Sturm dueled for the top of the 1969/70 season. In the end, Sturm ended the season in third place behind champions Austria and runner-up Wiener Sportklub. In addition, the black and whites reached the semi-finals in the ÖFB Cup for the first time, where opponent Wacker Innsbruck won 2-0.

1970–1979 - New Bundesliga, new main sponsor

In 1970 Janos Szep returned to Sturm. On October 21, 1970, Sturm had a great success. In Messestädtecup could in the second round in the first leg at the Federal Liebenau Stadium before 22,000 spectators Gunners of Arsenal with 1: 0 be defeated. A goal by Robert Kaiser was revoked; this goal was finally missing in the second leg in London, which was lost 2-0. The performance of the 1-0 victory in Graz could not always show Sturm in the championship. They finished the season in 12th place.

On June 18, 1971 Vice Hans Gert took over the presidency of Sturm. Ten days earlier he brought in Adolf Remy as a trainer. Hans Gert and Adolf Remy relied on renovation. The expensive contracts with old players were no longer renewed, but numerous talents came. On June 15, 1972 the new 15-man board was elected by Hans Gert. Gert's childhood friend Franz Gady joined the board for the first time. Sturm ended the season in seventh place, in the ÖFB Cup it was against Rapid in the second round.

In 1972/73 Sturm was in a relegation battle. Coach Remy had to leave Sturm, Gert brought Karl Schlechta . In the end, Sturm finished the season three points ahead of the relegation places in 14th place. The season was originally ended on a relegation zone, but the storm delegation successfully protested at the ÖFB. Because of the foot and mouth disease , Eisenstadt and Admira-Wacker had to cancel all games for the time being. Harald Schaupp wrote the following in the Kleine Zeitung :

" The following reasons for protest were given by Sturm: 1. The postponement of the championship game Eisenstadt against Austria Wien from June 27th to July 4th, ie on a date when Vienna Austria was already saved, 2. Eisenstadt became a Allowed a break. The same application from Admira was rejected, which is confirmed by Admira managing director Matuschka to SK Sturm. 3. The postponement of the game Admira - Vienna from July 4th to 7th, ie to a point in time when Admira had already secured their participation in the UEFA Cup with a 1-1 draw against Innsbruck. 4. The fact that the games of the official last round were not scheduled at the same time, whereby Klagenfurt Austria (match against Innsbruck 1: 1) profited, as Innsbruck was confirmed as champions after the afternoon game Rapids. 5. The game break caused by the foot and mouth disease was beneficial to the people of Eisenstadt, because in the supplementary games they met teams who were only half-heartedly involved. Sturm closed the evidence about the irregularity of the championship finish by pointing out that they had protested against it immediately after the corresponding game fixings, but were rejected each time by the National League Commission (chaired by Dr. Tschank from Eisenstadt). On the basis of the "facts" mentioned, Sturm addressed the ÖFB President Dr. Gerö the request to stop the descent storm that came about in this way. "

- Harald Schaupp, Kleine Zeitung : July 10, 1973

From 1973 to 1978 at SK Sturm Graz: Heribert Weber

In 1973/74, Sturm brought the 18-year-old Styrian talent Heribert Weber . The season started very well. Only a draw in the first seven championship games meant the top of the table after nine rounds. But a relapse followed, Sturm wintered in sixth and finally ended the season in fifth. In November 1973 Sturm played for the last time for almost ten years in the Gruabn . In April 1974, the ÖFB ran a Bundesliga with ten clubs for the coming season , in which each federal state was represented by one club. Only Vienna was allowed to provide two clubs, Rapid and Austria. A second division with 14 to 16 clubs was introduced below. In an indirect duel, Sturm won the battle for the Styrian Bundesliga place against the GAK, the GAK had to go to the 2nd division.

The following season, Sturm competed in the UEFA Intertoto Cup for the first time and was eliminated in round three. As usual, the people of Graz relied on the “young wave”. Besides Gernot Jurtin of Judenburg came Anton Pichler from Weiz. In just two years, Sturm had brought five Styrian talents to him, plus goalkeeper Refik Muftić . Sturm won the premiere in the new Bundesliga 1-0 against Wacker Innsbruck in Liebenau. Sturm was also represented in the UEFA Cup . Sturm had to admit defeat after a 2-1 home match against Royal Antwerp due to the away goals rule after a 0-1 in Antwerp. In the Bundesliga, Sturm placed fifth in the midfield, and in the ÖFB Cup the Graz team reached the finals (3: 2 and 0: 2 against Wacker Innsbruck ).

→ Match dates for the finals of the ÖFB Cup 1974/75 .

From the 1975/76 season onwards there were Graz derbies again in Austria's highest football league, as the GAK made it to the Bundesliga (a maximum of one club was no longer allowed per federal state). Both derbies ended in a draw (0: 0 and 4: 4). Since Wacker Innsbruck was the reigning champion and Sturm lost to Innsbruck in the 1974/75 ÖFB Cup final, Sturm was allowed to compete in the Cup winners' Cup instead of the Tyroleans . After victories against Slavia Sofia (3: 1 and 0: 1) and Haladás Szombathely (2: 0 and 1: 1), Eintracht Frankfurt came in the quarter-finals , who threw the Graz out of the competition with a total score of 0: 3. In the championship, the black and white came eighth. The sad end of the season was the death of President Hans Gert, who lost the battle against a brain tumor at the age of only 34 .

After Gert's tragic death, Vice Franz Gady took over the presidency. In the championship 1976/77, Sturm alternated home wins and away defeats. At the end of the season stood nine wins in 36 games, ten draws and 17 defeats; Sturm finished ninth. Karl Schlechta ended his coaching career, the new coach was the 38-year-old former striker goalkeeper Günter Paulitsch .

In 1977/78 President Gady presented the Raiffeisen-Zentralbank as a second and trouser sponsor. Under coach Paulitsch, Sturm became the dreaded away team this season, with Sturm losing only nine of the 18 away games. Since the home games were also becoming more and more successful, the Grazers were able to establish themselves in the upper part of the table; in the end, the black and white table came fourth. That is why Sturm entered the UEFA Cup again next year. Already in round one (1: 5 and 1: 2 against Borussia Mönchengladbach ) it was the end of the line. In the championship, Sturm found himself at the bottom of the table for a short time, in the end it was enough for fourth place.

On August 1, 1979, the previous second sponsor, Raiffeisen, became the new main sponsor of the Grazers instead of Durisol . From now on, Sturm was called SK Raika Sturm Graz , including the sponsor's name . Sturm slipped again during the season (1979/80) to the bottom of the table. President Franz Gady reacted and in March 1980 brought the former Innsbruck and LASK coach Otto Barić as the new coach. Gady's tactic worked, Barić saved Sturm in ninth place.

1980–1989 - runner-up title, UEFA Cup fairy tale, own training center

In 1980/81, 19-year-old Walter Hörmann from Feldbach came to Sturm Graz, as well as Zvonko Breber from the NK Maribor . In addition, coach Barić was able to persuade President Gady to bring former NK Zagreb striker Božo Bakota to Graz. On November 29, 1980 Sturm became autumn champions for the first time in club history after a 3-1 win against Rapid. With two laps to go, Sturm was in first place with 44 points, two points ahead of Wiener Austria and four points ahead of Admira. However, Sturm only managed a 2-2 away game in the penultimate round at LASK. In the last round, Sturm was able to win against Rapid on their own or through a defeat against the GAK by foreign aid, but the Graz Rapid in Liebenau lost 4-1 and Austria defeated the GAK, which is why Sturm was behind the Vienna Austria runner-up was. Nevertheless, this success was the greatest so far in the almost 70-year history of the black and white. Gernot Jurtin was the top scorer with 19 goals ahead of Hans Krankl .

→ Match dates of the decisive game for the Austrian championship 1980/81 .

Due to the runner-up title, Sturm was allowed to play in the UEFA Cup again. CSKA Moscow was eliminated in round one (1: 0 and 1: 2), but opponents Göteborg were one size too big in round two. In the championship only reached sixth place, in addition, the successful trainer Otto Barić, suffering from kidney stones , left Sturm after the end of the season. The 1982/83 Bundesliga season took place for the first time in eight years with 16 clubs. President Gady and the Sturm board decided to return to the Gruabn due to the expensive rent in the dilapidated Liebenau stadium . Once again, Sturm qualified fourth for the UEFA Cup.

In the 1983/84 season, the club celebrated great success. First, the Graz team started in round one in Bucharest at Sportul Studențesc , who were defeated 2-1. The 0-0 in the second leg was enough for promotion; Likewise, the 2: 2 in round two in Italy against Hellas Verona and a total score of 2: 1 against 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig were enough to reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals against Nottingham Forest . After a 0-1 win in England, Sturm also scored 1-0 in the second leg in front of 17,000 fans in Liebenau, and the game went into extra time. In the 114th minute, the Soviet referee Yuschka pointed to the penalty spot after a header duel between Hörmann (Sturm) and Hodge (Nottingham) in the Graz penalty area and Walsh converted the subsequent penalty to 1-1, which meant that Nottingham made it to the semifinals. Referee Yukscha could only leave the field under police protection. In the championship, Sturm landed tied with Wacker Innsbruck (and the worse goal difference) in 5th place.

From the summer of 1985, the 16-league was converted into two 12-leagues with play-off mode. In the 1984/85 season, Sturm placed sixth in the upper midfield. The UEFA Cup qualification was narrowly missed in the preseason with fifth place, which is why the Graz team only played in the ÖFB Cup. There, Graz lost in the semi-finals to Vienna Austria, where 19-year-old Otto Konrad was used for the first time. In April Gernot Fraydl left Sturm, the new coach Robert Pflug left the club in September 1984, Hermann Stessl came until June 1985.

Ivan Marković joined the club in May 1985 and Franz Mikscha came as the new coach in October 1985. In a year and a half, Sturm “used” five coaches. With Mikscha, the "storm spirit" and success came back again. In July '85, a new Libero came with Michael Petrović . In February 1986, the future President Hannes Kartnig appeared for the first time at Sturm. Rumors that Kartnig would draw up a counter-list at the general assembly on February 26th did not come true for the time being. Alois Paul became the new president. The 1985/86 championship ended Sturm again on a good fifth place and in May 1986 President Paul hired Walter Ludescher , because Paul wanted to be even more successful.

In 1986/87 the Bundesliga was played with a play-off for the first time. In September '86 Sturm reached a preliminary decision in the title fight. Away on the GAK square, the black and whites beat their city rivals 3-2, who had to go into the relegation play-off. Coach Ludscher took on a makeover. Andy Pichler , Gernot Jurtin and Walter Saria had to leave the club, today's Sturm-Amateure-Trainer Christian Peintinger , Kurt Temm , Wolfgang Heinzl and today's academy trainer Michael Rexeis moved up from their own offspring . But the young team could only reach seventh place in the Bundesliga season. In the ÖFB Cup, the Blackies failed in round three to Admira Wacker.

The Messendorf training center opened in 1990 before the renovation

In the 1987/88 season, storm surprisingly came third in the championship and achieved a UEFA Cup rank. President Paul wanted to be even more successful and one season later brought national player Jürgen Werner and defender Georg Zellhofer from VOEST Linz to Sturm. In July 1988 Hannes Kartnig also bought Walter Schachner and made him available to Sturm. But the "dream team" with players like Petrovic, Zellhofer, Schachner, Werner, Türmer, Thonhofer, Koschak and Krämer did not manage to switch from hard drill to the fine, playful blade. Sturm had to go to the relegation play-off. Paul brought Otto Barić back to Sturm, who saved the club from relegation. The club crisis came to a head. The budget was particularly heavily burdened by the construction of the training center. In addition, Barić demanded new players in order to assert himself in the league in the top field and Hannes Kartnig pushed more and more into the club. He offered himself to be able to fulfill Barić's wishes and was thus more and more popular with the supporters' club. He presented a sponsorship offer from Neff , which was not accepted. He also announced the purchases of Schachner, Gröss and Schinkels if he were to become president, which he did not become.

Because on July 5, 1989, an extraordinary general assembly took place in the Hubertussaal. The list of the old board of directors competed against the "List Hannes Kartnig", which was ultimately defeated with 217: 261. Werner Mörth became the new head of the club. He presented a new sponsor with Stabil Fenster . In July 1989 Mörth and Kartnig, who was a simple member of the board, brought Gustl Starek as the new coach. Sturm reached fifth place in the championship play-off. In the summer, the football performance centers were converted into federal youth centers (BNZ). Sturm had been running one for years, which was sponsored by the Graz Mutuals. From 1992 onwards, numerous players emerged from this Sturm-BNZ who were to serve the club well. These were Martin Hiden , Günther Neukirchner , Markus Schopp and Mario Haas, among others . In November '89 Hannes Kartnig was voted out of office because of a conflict with coach Starek and in May 1990 the training center in Messendorf was opened.

1990–1997 - President Kartnig, successful coach Osim and Cup winner Sturm

With Rudi Schauss, a storm legend left the club in 1990. Schauss completed 393 championship games as a defender between 1976 and 1990, in which he scored 36 goals. In November 1990, club boss Egger resigned. “Ice King” Charly Temmel succeeded him and became the new president. At the end of the season, Sturm ranked third and thus a UEFA Cup place. In May 1991 Temmel presented a new main sponsor. The Austrian company Stabil Fenster replaced the Raiffeisen central bank. Shortly thereafter, the president split from manager Seneca due to financial reasons and divergent views. In addition to the elimination of the UEFA Cup in round one against FC Utrecht , the 1991/92 championship also did not go well, Sturm had to go to the relegation play-off, but won it. Coach Starek was fired and from November '91 Robert Pflug came back to the coaching office.

In 1992 the debt burden was heavy. The Messendorf training center continued to burden the financial situation. The squad was upgraded by the returnees Rupert Marko and Walter Hörmann, for whom a fundraising campaign was started. Since Sturm had to go to the promotion play-off again, coach Pflug was relieved of his duties in October '92 and replaced by Laco Jurkemik . In November, the ORF broadcast Sport on Monday spoke of 28 million schillings in debts and on December 2nd Hannes Kartnig was elected the new Sturm President because he had the option of paying off his debt. Charly Temmel, who brought Kartnig into play because of the immense debts, retired to the post of Vice President.

In 1992 Charly Temmel made Hannes Kartnig president

Two weeks later, Kartnig brought Heinz Schilcher back to Sturm Graz as manager and the club finally managed to stay up.

From the 1993/94 season, the Bundesliga switched back to a 10-league. Trainer Jurkemik left Sturm in the direction of Trnava , manager Schilcher brought Milan Đuričić from Croatian club NK Osijek . The team experienced a bloodletting. 15 players had to leave the club, but young players like Mario Haas , Arnold Wetl , Markus Schopp , Martin Hiden , Gilbert Prilasnig , Günther Neukirchner , Herbert Grassler , Michael Leitner , Gernot Krisper , Gerald Pripfl and Marchanno Schultz came to the train. In addition, goalkeeper Roland Goriupp came from the GAK. The young team finished eighth in the winter and was seventh at the end of the season. After the end of the season, coach Đuričić left the club due to personal differences with President Kartnig. His successor was the former Yugoslav team boss Ivica Osim , who played with Schilcher between 1976 and 1978 at Racing Strasbourg.

This marked the beginning of the “Osim era of success”. The partnership with LUV Graz was intensified and the SK Sturm amateur team was formed. Kartnig brought the Croatian Ivica Vastić from MSV Duisburg . Coach Osim completely changed the game in Graz; instead of fighting, it was now technique and short passing. This system was already successful in the first season, Sturm Graz became runner-up in 1994/95 - equal on points with champions Salzburg, who only stayed ahead of Sturm (+7) thanks to the better goal difference (+14). The club was also modernized. A new storm logo replaced the logo with the flag and the storm echo was now called Sturm-News . In 1995/96 Sturm won the first title in the professional league. After FK Austria Wien were eliminated 1-0 away in the second round of the Cup, Sturm met SG Gerasdorf in the quarter-finals , who were also defeated away 2-1. In the semifinals there was a derby from Graz, in which the black and whites defeated the athletes 3-1. Sturm was in the ÖFB Cup final and met SK Admira Wacker . Milanič and Wetl (2) defeated Admira 3-1 in Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium .

In the summer of 1995, the new three-point rule was introduced and the 1995/96 championship was only decided in the very last round in Vienna between SK Sturm and SK Rapid. The game ended 2-0 for the Viennese, who were Austrian champions for the 30th time. At the end of July, Cup winner Sturm defeated Champion Rapid in Kapfenberg 1-0 in the Supercup final .

→ Match dates of the decisive game for the Austrian Championship , the ÖFB Cup Final and the ÖFB Supercup 1995/96.

In the following season, the cup title could be defended; in the final the Blackies defeated Vienna 2-1. Before the season started, a new main sponsor came with the Graz beer group Puntigamer . Kartnig also brought Giuseppe Giannini from AS Roma . Sturm finished the championship in third place. The game SK Sturm - SK Rapid on May 31, 1997 was also the last game in the Gruabn . The new Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium was built in place of the Liebenau Federal Stadium and the Blackies moved to the larger oval in the south of Graz.

→ Match dates of the ÖFB Cup final 1996/97 .

1997–2002 - First championship title and golden years

The 1997/98 season started with the grand opening of the new Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium and a Graz derby, which Sturm won 4-0. During the winter break, Sturm set a new record with 50 points and 50 goals from 21 games and became autumn champions. In the spring of 1998 the magic triangle was formed , consisting of striker and captain Ivica Vastić , striker Mario Haas and midfielder Hannes Reinmayr . The 29th round of the 1997/98 season finally brought Sturm in the 89th club year to the greatest success in the club's history. After a 5-0 home win over Wiener Austria, SK Sturm Graz was already champions of the Austrian Bundesliga with seven rounds to go. Captain Vastić officially picked up the first championship plate for the black and whites after the last game of the season at home against Admira Wacker. SV Ried won the cup final , but the Graz team were able to take revenge on the Upper Austrians in the Supercup. Sturm won the championship with 81 points and 19 points ahead of Rapid Vienna.

→ Match dates of the decisive match for the Austrian Championship , the ÖFB Cup Final and the ÖFB Supercup 1997/98.

1998/99 was the first of three Champions League seasons so far that Sturm reached over Ujpest Budapest (4-0 and 3-2). They played in Group C together with Inter Milan , Spartak Moscow and Real Madrid and finished bottom of the group with one point. In the championship, Sturm was able to defend his championship title in the last game of the season (3-0 at home against FC Tirol). In addition, the Graz team celebrated the triple with a Cup and Supercup victory.

→ Match dates of the decisive game for the Austrian Championship and the ÖFB Cup Final and the ÖFB Supercup 1998/99.

In 1999, the black and whites reached the Champions League again via Servette Geneva . In Group D Sturm met Manchester United , Olympique Marseille and Croatia Zagreb . With one point ahead of Zagreb, Sturm reached third place and was eliminated from the Champions League, but was allowed to continue playing in the UEFA Cup , where AC Parma was waiting. Sturm Graz was able to equalize the 1: 2 away defeat in Parma in the second leg on December 9, 1999 in regular time. After the following extension, Sturm retired as a result of a controversial decision by the referee at 2: 3 with 3: 3.

In the (Champions League) 2000/01 season, Sturm finally made himself known internationally. Again in Group D as in the previous year, Galatasaray Istanbul , AS Monaco and Glasgow Rangers were waiting this year . Galatasaray (3-0), Monaco (2-0) and Rangers (2-0) were defeated at home, while Sturm lost 5-0 to Rangers and Monaco away. The decisive game in Istanbul ended in a 2-2 draw and Sturm were group winners with ten points ahead of Galatasaray (eight points) and reached the second group stage of the Champions League. There, the Graz team met in Group A against FC Valencia , Manchester United and Panathinaikos Athens . Valencia and Manchester were a size too big, thanks to the two wins against Panathinaikos (2-0 at home and 2-1 in Athens), Sturm finished third in the group. In the championship, the black and white reached fourth place. For the first time since 1994 Sturm could not achieve a European Cup rank, which was the worst result under coach Osim.

2001/02 joined a completely new Sturm team. Twelve departures were offset by nine additions. In addition, Herbert Rauter , Thomas Krammer and Ekrem Dağ came from the amateur team . This devoured almost the entire Champions League million. Sturm was runner-up, ten points behind Tyrol . This meant a Champions League qualifying place. The ÖFB Cup final this season took place in Graz for the first time, the duel was GAK against Sturm Graz, which the athletes won 3: 2. As a bonus, captain Vastić announced his departure after the final whistle. After eight years with Sturm Graz, he moved to Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan . He played 303 games for Sturm and scored 151 goals, including 124 championship goals. It was not until 2008 that Mario Haas should break his championship goal record. Due to the bankruptcy of FC Tirol, Sturm was allowed to run as runner-up in the Supercup 2002, opponent was again the GAK and the city rivals won again, this time 3-0.

→ Match dates of the ÖFB Cup Final and the ÖFB Supercup 2001/02.

2002–2007 - Sporty downturn, bankruptcy and compulsory settlement

In 2002 Sturm failed to qualify for the Champions League against Maccabi Haifa and made it into the UEFA Cup. After the hurdles FC Livingston and Levski Sofia had been overcome, round three came Lazio . At home the Italians won the first leg 3-1, but the Graz team won 1-0 away in the second leg, which meant they were eliminated from the UEFA Cup. After a 3-1 home defeat in the championship against FC Kärnten , coach Osim resigned after eight years in front of cameras. Assistant coach Franco Foda took over the team on an interim basis in September 2002. Due to the good results, he was appointed the new head coach in November. The German brought the team to sixth place at the end of the season. The Sturm Academy was opened in Gössendorf in April 2003 .

Despite the good performance of the Sturm team, the club management decided to get a new coach. Thanks to Schilcher's contacts, the Swiss ex-team boss Gilbert Gress was hired in June 2003 . As early as September 2003, after 91 days, the Frenchman was given leave again and replaced by the former storm libero Michael Petrović , who was considered a “cheap solution” with an open-ended contract. The 2004/05 season was mixed. In April 2005 Kartnig sold the former homestead Gruabn to the city of Graz for 1.4 million euros amid loud fan protests in order to be able to bridge the tense financial situation. The championship could finish the black and white in seventh place.

Franco Foda was appointed head coach of SK Sturm for the second time in 2006

Hans Rinner took over the presidency in 2007 and led the association back into calm waters

The license for 2005/06 was only obtained with conditions. The Graz team didn't get far in the UI Cup , but things went rather badly in the championship. However, the season produced a new storm record player. Veteran Günther Neukirchner , who celebrated his 400th Bundesliga game against Admira during the season, overtook Gernot Jurtin (410 games) by eleven appearances (421). In November 2005 there was another general assembly at which the fans again demanded Kartnig's resignation. The latter announced his withdrawal in September so as not to have to face an election. Vice-president and freight forwarder Carlo Platzer announced a separate list in advance, but it burst minutes before the meeting on November 8th. Kartnig then announced that he would remain President until an extraordinary meeting in the first half of 2006. For the first time there was talk of seven million euros in debt. On April 25, 2006, at the extraordinary general assembly, the board of directors with Kartnig was again confirmed for another four years with 86:37 votes due to a lack of opposing candidates. In terms of sport, Sturm finished the season in eighth place.

In 2006/07 the crisis at SK Sturm reached its peak, the club was on the verge of collapse. First, in April 2006, the Bundesliga Sturm refused the license in the first instance. Manager Heinz Schilcher resigned in May and did what the fans had long asked of Hannes Kartnig. However, he stubbornly resisted and had to take police protection in the meantime. Finally, Sturm got the license in the second instance, which Kartnig pinned on the flags as sole merit. On June 1st, the club's management appointed the successful amateur storm trainer Franco Foda as head coach again. On September 1, 2006, after long, unsuccessful negotiations , the financial procurator finally filed for bankruptcy at the Graz Regional Court and demanded around 1.2 million euros. On October 23, 2006, Sturm himself filed for bankruptcy with a simultaneous application for compulsory settlement. On November 2, 2006, the change of president called for by the fans and the investment group took place. Hans Fedl took over the office from Hannes Kartnig. Two months later, on January 18, 2007, another extraordinary meeting took place in the Puntigamer Hubertussaal, at which President Fedl, who only wanted to be a transitional head, was elected honorary president of SK Sturm Graz for life with standing ovations . The previous vice- president Hans Rinner followed him. He and the new board of directors were unanimously elected and a week later, on January 25, 2007, the 140 creditors finally accepted the compulsory settlement, which was paid together by Styria Medien AG , Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark and Grazer Wechselsendung insurance.

A month later, the Bundesliga withdrew ten points from the club in the current championship because of bankruptcy proceedings. In addition to the three negative points with which Sturm started the 2006/07 season (a "requirement" for the granting of the Bundesliga license), Sturm finished the season in seventh place. Without the point deductions, the Graz table would have been fourth.

2007–2008 - Financial and sports rehabilitation

Sturm in Schwarz during the cup game against Vienna Austria in March 2009

The motto of the 2007/08 season was “New beginning”. On the one hand, the number of spectators was consistently high, on the other hand, confidence in the club's management was back. The support team around coach Foda also managed to form a team that could keep up in the upper table regions. The result was the title of Winter King for the 2007/08 season.

Despite the good autumn 2007, the black and whites suffered a slump in the spring of 2008, lost the lead in the table and temporarily slipped to fifth place in the table. At the end of the season, the Graz team reached fourth place in the table and thus the starting place for the UI Cup .

There Sturm rose in the second round of the 2008/09 season and defeated the teams from Soligorsk (total score 2-0) and Budapest (2-1) and thus reached the second round of the UEFA Cup qualification . There the club met twelve-time Swiss champions FC Zürich , who, however, secured promotion to the UEFA Cup main round after two 1-1 draws in both games after the penalty shoot-out in Graz in the second leg. After being eliminated from the European Cup, a long series of victories succeeded in the championship with seven consecutive victories (plus one victory in the ÖFB Cup), which has so far been achieved three times. The SK Sturm was then champion twice and runner-up once.

2009 - centenary of the association

Sturm before the game against Austria Vienna on November 8, 2009 in the Horr Stadium

On November 20, 2008, SK Sturm prematurely began its celebrations for the upcoming 100-year anniversary. At the Kunsthaus in Graz , the association presented the association's anniversary logo and the associated anniversary jerseys in simple black and white in front of 100 exclusively invited guests. The book “ We are storm! 100 Years of Graz Football History ”and the program for the anniversary year 2009 is presented. On January 8th, 2009 the celebration of the centenary took place in the Helmut-List-Halle . Ivica Osim was voted coach of the century from among around 700 invited guests and former players and coaches . Long-time captain Ivica Vastić, Markus Schopp, Roman Mählich and Hannes Reinmayr were also honored and with Günther Neukirchner (record player with 421 games) and Mario Haas (record scorer) SK Sturm honored two of its "veterans".

On July 21, 2009, President Rinner announced that he would only be in the second row in future and that he would transfer operational management to a club manager. Just one week later, on July 28, 2009, the promising candidate, Christian Schmölzer , tournament director of EURO 2008 , confirmed that he would take over this position on August 3, 2009. On March 9, 2010, the employment relationship between Sturm and Schmölzer was terminated.

In sporting terms, Sturm reached the second qualifying round of the newly created 2009/10 UEFA Europa League. There the club met the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Premijer Liga club NK Široki Brijeg , who were defeated with a total score of 3-2. The opponent in the third qualifying round was OFK Petrovac from Montenegro , who was defeated with an overall result of 7-1 mainly due to a 5-0 home win in the second leg. During the draw for the playoff round, SK Sturm was assigned the Ukrainian soccer club Metalist Kharkiv . The first game in Graz ended with a 1-1 draw. The second leg on August 27 in Ukraine ended with a 1-0 victory for Graz after Daniel Beichler secured the team's entry into the group stage of the competition with his goal in the 32nd minute of the game , where they played Panathinaikos in Group F Athens, Galatasaray and Dinamo Bucharest meet. The group stage ended on December 16, 2009 as the last. While they lost both games against Dinamo Bucharest (0: 1 and 1: 2) and Panathinaikos (each 0: 1), they were able to score four points against Galatasaray Istanbul (1: 1 in Istanbul and 1: 0 in Graz). The 1-0 win against the Turks was also the last game in the century.

As part of the celebrations, the team of the century was also elected in SturmEcho . Kazimierz Sidorczuk is in the gate , the defenders are Heinz Ruß , Michael Petrović and Günther Neukirchner . In the midfield are Markus Schopp , Manfred Steiner , Hannes Reinmayr and Helmut Senekowitsch . The attackers of the century are Mario Haas , Gernot Jurtin and Ivica Vastić , who is also the captain of this team. The coach of the team of the century is Ivica Osim .

2010 - first title in eleven years

Sturm Graz won the cup final in Klagenfurt in front of 28,000 spectators

After the quite successful Europa League group stage - even if you finished last in the group with four points - the Graz team went into spring 2010. For the first time, they were able to cast off the year-long “spring curse” and celebrated five wins in the first five rounds of spring. The first defeat only followed in the seventh spring round in Salzburg. After that, however, the Graz team collapsed a bit, until the end of the season they cemented their fourth place in the table. This was the third time in a row that Sturm finished the championship in fourth place.

They were much more successful in the ÖFB Cup . After victories against Red Bull Salzburg (2-0 at home in the second round), Admira Wacker (1-0 at home after extra time in the quarter-finals) and Ried (1-0 away in the semi-finals), Sturm Graz was in one for the first time since 2002/03 Cup final. The Styrian won this on May 16 in the Klagenfurt Hypo Group Arena in front of 28,000 spectators thanks to a header from Klemen Lavrič in the 81st minute with 1-0. This is the first title for Sturm Graz in eleven years.

On May 25, 2010, President Hans Rinner , who had been in office since 2007, stepped down as President of SK Sturm Graz. He was succeeded on May 26th by the previous Vice President Gerald Stockenhuber as the new Sturm President. On January 10, 2012, Stockenhuber resigned from office with immediate effect.

→ Match dates for the 2009/10 ÖFB Cup final .

Since 2011 - third championship title

SK Sturm Graz: Champion 2011

On May 25, 2011, SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz was crowned Austrian champion for the third time after 1998 and 1999. The team celebrated a 2-1 home win over Wacker Innsbruck on the last day of the match. For coach Franco Foda, this is the third title with Sturm, after having seen the first two as a player.

On March 19, 2012 Sturm Graz announced that the club would not renew the contract with coach Franco Foda and that he would therefore leave him at the end of the season. This announcement was preceded by several weeks of media disputes between the coach and the club's board. The previous Ried trainer Paul Gludovatz was also presented as the new sports director. Sturm Graz ended the Bundesliga season 2011/12 with the disappointing 5th place and without qualification for an international competition.

→ Game dates of the decisive game for the Austrian Championship 2010/11 .

Peter Hyballa , who signed a contract until 2014, was presented as his successor . After a good first half of the season, which was rewarded with fourth place, internal differences caused a break between coach and team. After a series of defeats at the beginning of the year, Peter Hyballa was given leave of absence on April 22 as the coach of SK Sturm Graz. For the rest of the season, the coach of the second team, Markus Schopp, took over as coach. Schopp lost five out of six games and won only one. Nevertheless, the Graz team maintained fourth place on the last day of the match and thus qualified for the Europa League.

At the beginning of the 2013/14 season, Darko Milanič was introduced, who signed a three-year contract. In the Europa League they surprisingly eliminated against the Icelandic representative Breiðablik . In the Bundesliga they only reached fifth place and therefore had to hope for a place in the final of the ÖFB Cup in order to be represented internationally in the coming season. In the semi-finals, however, they failed to second division SKN St. Pölten , which meant that they could not participate in the Europa League in the season 14/15. Although the season goals were not achieved, the management stuck to coach Darko Milanič.

The start of the 2014/15 season did not go as planned for SK Sturm either. In September Darko Milanic left the club - not at the instigation of management, but because he was poached by the English second division Leeds United . During the search for a coach, Günther Neukirchner took over the team on an interim basis. In view of the many names in circulation, Franco Foda was reappointed as coach at the end of September, taking on his third term at SK Sturm. In the following two years a 4th and a 5th place came about. Günther Kreissl was appointed sports director in May 2016. His order was steadily improving. In the 2016 season, for example, they won their first autumn championship since 1998. The season ended in 3rd place. In the Europa League Quali, after advancing against Mladost Podgorica in the 3rd round against Fenerbahce Istanbul. Sturm also played a very good autumn season in the 2017/18 season and went into the winter break as championship leader. In the meantime, trainer Franco Foda has been appointed team boss by the ÖFB and Heiko Vogel has been appointed as the new trainer. After a bad start into the spring, they soon caught up and ended the season as runner-up. In addition, they won the ÖFB Cup for the 5th time with a 1-0 win after extra time against Red Bull Salzburg. Sturm Graz took part in the second qualifying round for the Champions League, but failed at the Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam with 0: 2 and 1: 3, which means they switched to the third qualifying round for the Europa League. There they embarrassed themselves against AEK Larnaka from Cyprus and were eliminated with a total score of 0: 7. In the 2018/19 season, the Graz team with a new coach, Roman Mählich , himself a former Sturm player, was able to get a place in the championship group (top half of the table) in the newly formed Bundesliga after 22 rounds and was fifth at the end of the championship Rank; you had to go to the decisive play-off against SK Rapid Wien for a place in the Europa League qualification. Sturm managed to turn off the Viennese 2-1 and 0-1. Head coach Mählich was given a leave of absence because the association "wanted to break new ground". Nestor El Maestro became the new coach . In the EL qualification, the Norwegian club FK Haugesund ended with a total score of 2: 3. So the Styrians could not keep the chance of a place in an international group stage.

League affiliations

1920-1949

red / gray : championships under the Nazi regime
first class:
red : division class • blue : state league
second class:
green : Styrian championship • gray : gaume championship

Since 1950

First class:
light blue : national league A • dark blue : national league • yellow : Bundesliga • orange : Bundesliga relegation play-off
second class:
red : national league B • dark red : regional league middle

Bundesliga team

Coaching team

As of July 28, 2020

function	Surname	Date of birth	nationality	with the club since	Last club
Trainer	Christian Ilzer	10/21/1977		07/2020	FK Austria Vienna
Assistant coach	Dominik Deutschl	02/11/1996		07/2020	FK Austria Vienna
Assistant coach	Uwe Hölzl	09/27/1969		07/2020	FK Austria Vienna
Goalie coach	Stefan Loch	06/30/1982		06/2016	FC Liefering
Athletic trainer	Marco Angeler	01/28/1989		07/2020	FK Austria Vienna

→ List of previous trainers

Current squad

As of August 23, 2020

Back number	Surname	Date of birth	nationality	with the club since	Last club
goalkeeper
27	Jörg Siebenhandl	January 18, 1990		07/2017	Würzburger Kickers
32	Tobias Schützenauer	05/19/1997		07/2014	SK Sturm Graz II
defense
04th	Jon Gorenc Stankovič	01/14/1996		08/2020	Huddersfield Town
05	Gregory Wüthrich	04/12/1994		08/2020	Perth Glory
14th	Paul Komposch	05/13/2001		08/2020	SK Sturm Graz II
23	Lukas Spendlhofer	06/02/1993		07/2014	Inter Milan
24	Sandro Ingolitsch	04/18/1997		08/2020	SKN St. Pölten
35	Niklas Geyrhofer	02/11/2000		02/2020	SK Sturm Graz II
36	Vincent Trummer	May 18, 2000		09/2019	SK Sturm Graz II
44	Amadou Dante	07.10.2000		09/2019	Yeelen Olympique
midfield
06th	Markus Lackner	04/05/1991		07/2018	FC Admira Wacker Mödling
10	Otar Kiteishvili	03/26/1996		07/2018	Dinamo Tbilisi
11	Lukas Grozurek	12/22/1991		07/2018	FC Admira Wacker Mödling
13	Jakob Jantscher	01/08/1989		01/2018	without a club (previously Çaykur Rizespor )
17th	Lukas hunter	02/12/1994		01/2020	1. FC Nuremberg
18th	Philipp Huspek	02/05/1991		07/2016	SK Rapid Vienna
19th	Andreas Kuen	March 24, 1995		08/2020	SV Mattersburg
22nd	Tobias Koch	04/06/2001		05/2018	SK Sturm Graz II
25th	Stefan Hierländer	02/03/1991		07/2016	RB Leipzig
30th	Ivan Ljubic	07/07/1996		07/2017	SV Horn
33	Dardan Shabanhaxhaj	04/23/2001		02/2020	SK Sturm Graz II
attack
09	Bekim Balaj	01/11/1991		07/2019	Achmat Grozny
19th	Kevin Friesenbichler	05/06/1994		01/2020	VfL Osnabrück
37	Emeka Eze	09/26/1996		08/2017	Rovaniemi PS

→ List of previous SK Sturm captains

→ List of legionaries in the service of SK Sturm

Transfers

Status: August 14, 2020

Access:	Departures:
Summer 2020
Jon Gorenc Stankovič ( Huddersfield Town ) Sandro Ingolitsch ( SKN St. Pölten ) Gregory Wüthrich ( Perth Glory ) Andreas Kuen ( SV Mattersburg ) Lukas Fadinger ( SV Lafnitz , end of loan) Tobias Koch ( SV Lafnitz , end of loan) Lukas Grozurek ( Karlsruher SC , end of loan) Markus Lackner ( FC Admira Wacker Mödling , loan end) Emeka Eze ( Adanaspor , end of loan) Amadou Dante ( TSV Hartberg , end of loan)	Emanuel Sakic ( Aris Thessaloniki ) Christopher Giuliani ( Kapfenberger SV , loan) Oliver Bacher ( Kapfenberger SV , loan) Winfred Amoah ( Kapfenberger SV , loan) Martin Krienzer ( SV Lafnitz , loan) Lukas Fadinger (unknown) Isaac Donkor (unknown) Thomas Schrammel (unknown) Florian Ferk (unknown) Juan Domínguez (unknown) Anastasios Avlonitis (unknown) Christoph Leitgeb (end of career) Thorsten Röcher ( FC Ingolstadt 04 , end of loan) Kiril Despodow ( Cagliari Calcio , loan end)

society

Markus Schopp is one of many who comes from the Sturm-Nachwuchs ...

... just like Emanuel Pogatetz ...

... or Thomas Krammer

More data on the club (list of presidents, list of coaches, list of players, legionnaires, etc.), which have no place in the main article, can be found under

→ Main articles : SK Sturm Graz / facts and figures - people , SK Sturm Graz / facts and figures - players  and list of players of the SK Sturm Graz

Club philosophy

The SK Sturm has always been and is a training association. Numerous young players made the leap from the amateurs to the fighting team, were given up and / or were successful. Players like Ferdinand Feldhofer and Christoph Leitgeb matured into top Austrian players, while others like Mario Haas , Markus Schopp , Sebastian Prödl , Jürgen Säumel , Johannes Ertl and Emanuel Pogatetz made the leap abroad. Other successful players who were trained at Sturm are Klaus Salmutter , Ronald Gercaliu and Thomas Krammer .

Management of the club

→ Main article : Club structure of SK Sturm and current club management (including employees)

SK Sturm Graz is a member association, is led by the Presidium ("Board"), which is elected by the full members, and represented externally by the President. In addition, the presidium is supplemented by a club manager who takes on the operational management of the club. The president only acts as a kind of chairman of the board. The coach and the sports director are in charge of the sport. Ordinary members are entitled to vote at annual general meetings and general meetings.

In 2007, after the compulsory settlement, a marketing company was founded which, together with the Sturm board, monitors the association's budget. Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark , Grazer Wechselseiten Versicherung, Styria Medien AG and a private sponsor group are involved in this marketing company and financed the compulsory compensation.

Current board of directors

See also : List of previous presidents and honorary presidents

Surname	function
Christian Jauk	president
Peter Schaller & Michael Münzer	Vice President
Michael Vollmann	CFO
Gerhard Steindl	Deputy Chief Financial Officer
Susanne Gorny	Board
Wolfgang Nusshold	Board

Sponsors

In 1969, Sturm Graz was the first Austrian top division club to include a main sponsor in its club name. Since then, Sturm has had a total of four main sponsors:

year	company	Company logo	Branch	Club name	Club logo
1969-1979	Durisol		Building materials	SK Sturm Durisol Graz
1979-1990	Raiffeisen Central Bank		Banking	SK Raika Sturm Graz
1990-1996	Stable window		Window & door production	SK Stabil window Sturm Graz		1990-1994 1994-1996
since 1996	Puntigamer		beer	SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz		1996-2007 2007-2008 2009

With one exception, the main sponsors adorned the front of the storm jerseys. Between 1994 and 1996 Stabil-Fenster refrained from printing its logo and accepted the Steirerkrone as a shirt sponsor. But it was not included in the club name.

Outfitter

year	company	logo
1974-1983	Adidas
1983 – July 2009	puma
July 1, 2009–2013 / 14	JAKO
from 2014/15	Lotto Sport Italia

Logo through the ages

The SK Sturm logo changed between 1909 and today. However, the permanent element was the storm flag . It was not until 1994 that the then President Hannes Kartnig broke with tradition and introduced a new, modern logo.

In addition, with Kartnig there were more changes to the jersey colors from blue, green, yellow or orange. Green is the only color besides black and white with historical reference to the SK Sturm, so green has been worn regularly since the 1960s and in the meantime people have even competed entirely in green at home. The old storm flag became more and more a secret protest symbol among fans during the Kartnig era. In 2007, the club's management at the time returned to its roots under President Hans Rinner, initially using the double logo, which combined the Kartnig logo and the traditional storm flag. The logo for the 100th anniversary showed the old Sturm flag in a golden laurel wreath wrapping , the successor logo remains true to the traditional logo with flag.

The following comparison shows the first SK Sturm logo, the return to the roots in 2007 by means of the double logo and the final return to the traditional logo with the 100-year anniversary logo.

• 

  Logo with storm flag in the center (from the 1950s to 1979)

• 

  Double logo in black and white (2007-2008)

• 

  In the anniversary logo (2009) the modernized logo was finally turned its back on

Venues

In 1919 Sturm moved into his first home, the Gruabn

Sturm Graz was founded in 1909, but as a school team had no financial means to purchase their own sports field.

Fröhlichgasse

From 1910 to 1919 the place of the Grazer Sportvereinigung (GSV) in the Fröhlichgasse was a permanent venue, as the new club could not buy its own sports field. The philosopher and ex-chairman of the GSV Arnold Schmidt gave Sturm Graz the opportunity to train and play at the GSV-Platz.

Gruabn

In 1919, Sturm found his own home for the first time. Storm player Michael Höller Jr. could his father Michael Höller sen. persuaded the meadow on the corner of Jakominigürtel / Klosterwiesgasse, which his father had leased from the city of Graz, to use it as a new Sturm-Platz. With financial support from the ÖFV (today ÖFB ) and the State Office for Social Health, the adaptation of the meadow to a storm place was tackled. The Gruabn was born.

The expansion of the former Liebenau federal stadium in the south of Graz made the federal stadium more attractive to Sturm. So far, only games with an increased number of visitors and TV games have been moved to the federal stadium. Between 1974 and 1982 Sturm moved into it as a new permanent home. In 1982, in the meantime the Gruabn has been considerably renovated, the SK Sturm returned to its old home.

In April 2005 the then President Hannes Kartnig sold the Gruabn for 1.4 million euros to the city of Graz in order to keep Sturm financially alive and to be able to obtain the license for 2006/07. Today the Gruabn is the home of a long companion of the Blackies , the Grazer SC .

Mercury Arena

1997 moved into the new storm Liebenauer Stadium one, under the name since 2016 Merkur Arena is known

The fighting team has been playing in the new Liebenau stadium, which was built in place of the federal stadium, since the summer of 1997. Between 1997 and 2006 the Oval in Liebenau was called the Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium in Graz-Liebenau . After political differences between the City of Graz and the California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005, the stadium was renamed the UPC Arena on February 18, 2006 . In April 2016 the stadium became the Merkur Arena . Between 1997 and 2005 the old home, the Gruabn, was used as a training ground and for games of the youth and amateur teams.

Messendorf training center

On May 23 and 24, 1990 the training center in Messendorf in Graz-St. Peter opened, consisting of two grass pitches and a clubhouse. The groundbreaking was on April 3, 1986, and it cost almost 20 million schillings (around 1.5 million euros). Sturm raised seven million schillings (around 510,000 euros) itself, plus five million schillings (around 364,000 euros) from the city of Graz and the state of Styria, and the remaining almost 3 million schillings (around 218,000 euros) consisted of toto- Funds and donations. The construction manager of the training center was Heinz Hochstrasser.

On August 25, 2008, the groundbreaking ceremony for the large expansion and new construction of the training center took place. New are an artificial turf pitch , which was completed in autumn 2008, and a new natural grass pitch , in addition to the two existing natural grass pitches that are being completely renovated. An extension to the clubhouse is also being built, in which a wellness area and new cabins will be created. The city of Graz, the state of Styria and Sturm Graz each cover a third of the 4.5 million euros. Sturm earned 1.5 million euros from the sale of Sebastian Prödl to Werder Bremen (2.5 million euros transfer fee). The opening of the expanded training center took place on June 18 and 19, 2010.

• 

  The finished training center in Messendorf

• 

  The center has a total of four places

• 

  The new artificial turf pitch

Fan scene

The team is also accompanied by numerous fans when it comes to away games

Choreography of the fan clubs in the new fan block north

Graffiti about the rivalry between fans of the SK Sturm and the GAK. 1902 is the year the GAK was founded.

Choreography of the fan clubs at one of the Graz city derbies (2005)

Fan clubs

According to a study published in 2008 by the German market research institute Sport + Markt , Sturm ranks second in the Austrian fan table behind Rapid together with Salzburg with 360,000 fans across Austria, while Graz ranks 117th with 410,000 fans in Europe.

The three biggest Sturms fan clubs are the Jewels Sturm ( founded in 1994 ) , the Brigata Graz ( founded in 1994) and the Grazer Sturmflut ( founded in 1996). Together with Generation Chaos and the Tifosi Neri , they form the collective 1909 , an association to promote the fan culture of SK Sturm Graz. Online articles are used to publish match day plans, various announcements, reports and statements on current topics on their website and on Facebook .

In the Gruabn , the fan clubs gathered in the east stand directly behind the coaching benches. These were collected in the Merkur Arena until the end of the 2007/08 season on the south stand in sectors 24, 25 and 26. With the 2008/09 season, the fan clubs moved to the north side of the stadium, where the fan sectors were also increased from three to five sectors. Since then, the guest sector has been located in the south-eastern sector 27, the storm fans can be found on the north side in sectors 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. In addition to the three big fan clubs, all of the smaller fan clubs are now also in the north of the arena (on the north curve ) - such as Generation Chaos , Tifosi Neri , Bastion Nord , Unita 2011 , Black Storm, Black-White South (SWS) and many more.

Parts of the north curve cultivate fan friendships with the German second division club Karlsruher SC , Bundesliga club Werder Bremen , AC Pisa and Carrarese Calcio (each from Series C ). Furthermore, there used to be contacts with the Tifosi of the Slovenian club NK Maribor .

Rivalries

Rivalries developed especially with the city rivals Grazer AK (GAK). Since a joint Styrian championship was held for the first time in 1920, including with the GAK, the rivalry has risen continuously - it was not just hot on the football field, but also with fans on the streets in the form of arguments and graffiti. With the participation in the Austrian Bundesliga and the first countable successes (championship titles and cup victories ) further rivalries developed with the major Viennese clubs FK Austria Wien and SK Rapid Wien . Following the acquisition of SV Austria Salzburg by the Red Bull Group , the rivalry rose to Salzburg FC Red Bull Salzburg ..

Supporters club

The supporters club of SK Sturm was founded in 1954, the first time from when the SK Sturm State League A was relegated. The first president was HR Cornelius Gragger. The aim of the club was to collect all idealists in black and white and to do everything for their recovery, including organizing battle strolls or fundraising campaigns. Despite the ascent in 1955, Sturm had to descend again later in 1958. The second president, Herbert Troger Sr., managed to prevent the dissolution of the supporters' club. In 1960, the supporters' club came into the limelight for the first time when the club financed the new coach Janos Szep through a fundraising campaign. In the 1960s, the activity of the supporters' club was divided: on the one hand, it helped to finance the storm budget through so-called “battleship trips to the away games”. On the other hand, the supporters' club endeavored to promote the young Sturm talent with donations, the organization and financing of tournaments, the purchase of training and game equipment and the provision of Christmas gifts for the young players.

The SK Sturm supporters' club has been organizing a price schnapsen since 1969, in which the considerable income went entirely to the Sturm offspring; from 1971 the club took over the organization of the Sturm ball, and from 1972 (up to the Kartnig era in 1992) it organized the club Christmas celebrations .

The club members also did everything to keep SK Sturm alive: in 1973, due to the foot and mouth disease , the members issued a protest note, in 1974 (when the SK Sturm and GAK were thought to merge into one FC Graz) a ballot was prepared, in 1975 20 buses were organized for the away game against Haladas in Szombathely.

The organized storm ball became a major event, which is why the ball was moved from the chamber to the Puntigam brewery. Even today, the fan club is still very active for the SK Sturm. Since 2003, the place speaker Ludwig "Lucky" Krentl has been the club's president.

The presidents of the SK Sturm trailer club:

• 1954–1958: Cornelius Gragger
• 1958–1966: Herbert Troger sen.
• 1966–1967: Herbert Denk
• 1967–1985: Herbert Troger sen.
• 1985–2002: Hugo Seidl
• since 2003: Ludwig Krentl

titles and achievements

SK Sturm has won the Austrian championship title three times so far.

International

• European Cup
  • Quarter-finals European Cup (2): 1976 ( Cup winners' Cup ), 1984 ( UEFA Cup )
• UEFA Champions League
  • Participation in the Champions League (3): 1999 , 2000 , 2001

National

• Austrian championship
  • Austrian professional champion (3): 1998 , 1999 , 2011
  • Austrian amateur champion (1): 1934
  • Austrian Vice-Professional Champion (6): 1981 , 1995 , 1996 , 2000 , 2002 , 2018
• Austrian Cup
  • Austrian Cup Winner (5): 1996 , 1997 , 1999 , 2010 , 2018
  • Austrian Cup finalist (4): 1948 (Bundesländer Cup), 1975 , 1998 , 2002
• Austrian Supercup
  • Austrian Supercup winner (3): 1996, 1998, 1999
  • Austrian Supercup finalist (2): 1997, 2002
• Championship of the German-Alpine Football Association
  • Master (3): 1913, 1914, 1919

Regional

• Styrian national champion (11 / record champion): 1921, 1923, 1925, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
• Styrian Cup winner (9 / record winner): 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949

Top scorer

player	season	Gates
Gernot Jurtin	1980/81	21st
Božo Bakota	1981/82	24
Ivica Vastić	1995/96	20th
Ivica Vastić	1999/2000	32

Record player

Mario Haas played 543 games for SK Sturm Graz and scored 173 goals.

(As of December 10, 2018)

Most games	Most goals
1. Mario Haas : 543 0	1. Mario Haas : 173 0
2. Günther Neukirchner : 511 0	2. Ivica Vastić : 152 0
3. Andy Pichler : 433 0	3. Gernot Jurtin : 125 0
4. Rudolf Schauss : 405 0	4. Božo Bakota : 90 0
5. Gernot Jurtin : 397 0	5. Arnold Wetl : 59 0
6. Walter Saria : 336 0	6. Hannes Reinmayr : 58 0
7. Christian Gratzei : 318 0	7. Imre Szabics : 57 0
8. Ivica Vastić : 312 0	8. Roman Kienast : 55 0
9. Arnold Wetl : 306 0	9. Kurt Stendal : 55 0
10. Heinz Thonhofer : 300 0	10. Hubert Kulmer : 55 0

European Cup games

2001 Sturm was able to win the first group stage of the Champions League

→ Main article : SK Sturm Graz / European Cup Statistics

In 1968 the SK Sturm competed internationally for the first time: In the Mitropacup , Graz met Vasas Budapest in round one and lost 2-1 at home after a 3: 4 defeat away from home.

The black-and-whites achieved their first major success in 1983/84, when the UEFA Cup didn't end until the quarter-finals. This year went down in club history as the UEFA Cup fairy tale . The second leg was highly controversial when, after a header duel in extra time with a total score of 2: 2, the Yugoslav referee awarded a penalty to Sturm. Equally controversial was a UEFA Cup game against AC Parma in December 1999 , where a referee decision finally helped the Italians to rise.

Sturm Graz played the most successful European Cup season in the 2000/01 season, when the black and whites won the first group stage of the Champions League ahead of Galatasaray Istanbul and took third place in the group in the second group stage.

Derby record against the Grazer AK

→ Main article : Graz Derby

Between 1920 and today, SK Sturm and GAK have met 197 times, 185 of which were duels in the championship (130 at professional level and 55 at amateur level in the Styrian league ).

After the 130th Graz city derby (derbies at professional level since 1951) the derby balance is as follows:

Games	Wins storm	draw	Wins GAK	Goal Difference (from a storm perspective)
130	42	42	46	167: 172

II. Crew

The second team of SK Sturm Graz has been playing in the third-class Regionalliga Mitte since 2002 .

→ Main article : SK Sturm Graz II

Former departments

SK Sturm Graz was founded as the Graz soccer club “Sturm” . In 1920, however, the name was changed to the “Sturm” sports club in Graz , since from February of the same year an athletics and handball section (including a women's team) was also maintained. A boxing section followed in 1921, and a tennis section in the 1930s . Today there is only the football team that was promoted from the start.

The handball section celebrated a success at the end of the 1920s when they became autumn champions in field handball, despite strong competition.

literature

• Herbert Troger and Erwin Eberl (illustrations): SK Raika-Sturm Graz - 70 years of Sturm - Club history of SK Raika-Sturm Graz for the 70th anniversary . Publisher: SK Raika-Sturm-Graz, 1979.
• Herbert Troger: 80 years of Sturm - club history of SK Raika-Sturm Graz; for the 80th anniversary . Publisher: SK Raika-Sturm-Graz, 1990.
• August Kuhn and Herbert Troger: SK Sturm rules here: the book for the championship title . Verlag Styria, Graz 1998, ISBN 3-222-12620-8 .
• Wolfgang Kühnelt: Legionaries from the south - Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian footballers at GAK and Sturm . Publisher: Article VII-Kulturverein für Steiermark, Graz 2006, ISBN 3-900181-23-3 .
• Wolfgang Kühnelt and Markus Mörth: Beloved Enemy: The History of the Graz City Derby SK Sturm Graz - GAK 1920–2007 . Leykam Verlag, Graz 2008, ISBN 978-3-7011-7643-4 .
• Martin Behr and Herbert Troger: We are Sturm! 100 years of football history in Graz , publisher: SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz, Graz 2008, ISBN 978-3-200-01609-5 .

Web links

Commons : SK Sturm Graz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Homepage of the SK Sturm
• Sturmmedia.at - Independent portal about Sturm Graz
• Sturm12.at - Independent weblog about Sturm Graz
• SturmTifo.com - Photo and video gallery for fans of SK Sturm
• SturmArchiv.at - Archive about Sturm Graz
• Archive for the 1980/81 season
• All squads since 1996/97 and statistics database with all games in the Bundesliga, ÖFB Cup, Super Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup, etc.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See the extract from the association register.
2. ↑ See SK Sturm Sportbetriebe GmbH ( memento from March 23, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), SK Sturm sales & communication GmbH and SK Sturm Wirtschaftsbetriebe GmbH on firmenabc.at, accessed on March 23, 2017.
3. ↑ We are storm! , 1909-1918: pp. 16-23.
4. ↑ Here the SK Sturm rules , pp. 112–113.
5. ↑ 1919–1925: We are a storm! , Pp. 31-39.
6. ↑ Here the SK Sturm rules , p. 114.
7. ↑ 1925 - 1930: We are storm! , Pp. 40-45.
8. ↑ Here the SK Sturm rules , p. 116.
9. ↑ 1930–1940: We are a storm! , Pp. 52-73.
10. ↑ Here the SK Sturm rules , pp. 116–117.
11. ↑ 1940–1950: We are a storm! , Pp. 82-100.
12. ↑ Here the SK Sturm rules , pp. 118–119.
13. ↑ Barracking in Austria means pulling together the entire team on the day before the game.
14. ↑ 1950 - 1960: We are a storm! , Pp. 108-147.
15. ↑ Here the SK Sturm rules , pp. 120–121.
16. ^ "Springer fix in a storm"; Column 5 . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna November 1, 1967, p. 16 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
17. ↑ Sturm12.at | From windows, beer and building materials. Retrieved on August 9, 2019 (German). 
18. ↑ 1960-1970 : We are a storm! , Pp. 162-201.
19. ↑ Here the SK Sturm rules , pp. 122–123.
20. ↑ Sturm12.at | From windows, beer and building materials. Retrieved on August 9, 2019 (German). 
21. ↑ 1970 - 1980: We are a storm! , Pp. 216-255.
22. ↑ Here the SK Sturm rules , pp. 124–125.
23. ↑ 1980 - 1990: We are a storm! , Pp. 260-299.
24. ↑ Here the SK Sturm rules , pp. 126–127.
25. ↑ 1990 - 1997: We are storm! , Pp. 304-335.
26. ↑ 1997 - 2002: We are storm! , Pp. 336-375.
27. ↑ Here the SK Sturm rules , pp. 10-18.
28. ↑ 2002 - 2007: We are storm! , Pp. 376-401.
29. ↑ steiermark.ORF.at: Osim named coach of the century , 9 January 2009.
30. ↑ Kleine Zeitung : Storm Boss Rinner withdraws ( Memento from September 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), Kleine Zeitung July 21, 2009.
31. ↑ kleinezeitung.at: Schmölzer is Sturm's new club manager , accessed on July 29, 2009.
32. ↑ Sturm12.at: Term of employment with Schmölzer.
33. ↑ Sturm12.at: Hans Rinner resigned , accessed on May 25, 2010.
34. ↑ Sturm12.at: Gerald Stockenhuber new Sturm-President , accessed on May 26, 2010.
35. ↑ Peter Klimkeit in Kleine Zeitung of January 10, 2012: Sturm President Stockenhuber “I don't like it anymore” (accessed on January 11, 2012).
36. ↑ http://www.sturm12.at/2014/09/30/der-koenig-ist-tot-es-lebe-der-koenig/
37. ↑ Sturm Graz fires coach Mählich. derstandard.at, June 5, 2019, accessed on August 3, 2019 .  
38. ↑ SK Sturm Graz: Training team combat team (accessed on January 13, 2018)
39. ↑ sksturm.at - Trainer ( memento from June 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), January 28, 2009.
40. ↑ SK Sturm Graz: Squad Fighting Team (accessed on July 18, 2017)
41. ↑ ^{a b} We are storm! P. 437.
42. ↑ Transfermarkt.at: Transfers 2020/21 (accessed on August 1, 2020)
43. ↑ Sturm12.at | Start of the season: how round does the ball roll? Retrieved on August 9, 2019 (German). 
44. ↑ Sturm12.at | Sturm's new heads. Retrieved on August 9, 2019 (German). 
45. ↑ sksturm.at - Statutes ( Memento from December 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), January 28, 2009.
46. ↑ sksturm.at - Board of Directors ( memento from December 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), January 10, 2012.
47. ↑ Sturm12.at | From windows, beer and building materials. Retrieved on August 9, 2019 (German). 
48. ↑ We are storm!
49. ↑ Lotto Sport Italia dresses SK Sturm Graz - www.sksturm.at ( Memento from July 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on June 28, 2014).
50. ↑ Report on the study at oe24.at , accessed on March 25, 2009.
51. ^ Report on the study on kleinezeitung.at ( Memento from December 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), from February 12, 2009.
52. ↑ ^{a b} SK Sturm | Official fan clubs. Retrieved May 28, 2019 . 
53. ↑ Collective 1909: Imprint. In: Kollektiv 1909. May 28, 2019, accessed June 28, 2019 . 
54. ^ Bastion Nord ( Memento of February 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), January 27, 2009.
55. ↑ ELITE Nord 08 / Sector 9 , July 8, 2008.
56. ↑ The German Derby in Graz. Retrieved on May 28, 2019 (German). 
57. ^ Fan friendship with Sturm Graz. Retrieved on May 28, 2019 (German). 
58. ↑ sports editorial: Open letter from the GAK 1902 on the occasion of the violent incidents in the Graz soccer scene . Retrieved on May 28, 2019 (German). 
59. ↑ By ROBERT PREIS | 6:00 a.m., 20 July 2016: Away from football: GAK and storm: The hate smoulders underground. July 20, 2016, accessed May 28, 2019 . 
60. ↑ We are storm! , Pp. 158-159.
61. ↑ SK Sturm-Trailer Club.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
62. ↑ SK Sturm Graz - record player. Retrieved December 10, 2018 . 
63. ^ SK Sturm Graz - record goal scorers. Retrieved December 10, 2018 . 

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on July 3, 2007 .