6/26/2024

The second team starts the new season

Roughly two and a half weeks after their final game of the last season in the Regionalliga Mitte, the LASK Amateure OÖ resumed training. The team and coaching staff gathered at the LASK Performance Academy training center, powered by voestalpine, on Wednesday afternoon to kick off their preparations.

Coaching Staff

The LASK Amateure OÖ will embark on the 2024/25 season with a new coaching team. Radovan Krivokapic, head coach of the Serbian U19 national team, succeeds Luka Pavlovic and will lead the team as head coach into the new season in the Regionalliga Mitte. The 45-year-old UEFA Pro License holder has been with the Serbian Football Association since 2021, previously coaching the top-tier team Vojvodina Novi Sad. Krivokapic is supported by his assistant coaches Branislav Novakovic (61) and Marko Petrovic (37), both of whom hold UEFA A Licenses. The position of goalkeeping coach is held by Manuel Maier (32).

Technical Director Andreas Wieland, Assistant Coach Branislav Novakovic, Head Coach Radovan Krivokapic, Assistant Coach Marko Petrovic, Team Manager Philipp Leeb

New Players

The Athletiker have signed six new players so far. Most recently, midfield talent Enis Safin signed with the Black and Whites. The 20-year-old moved from Austria Wien to Linz, having played for the second-division club SV Stripfing last season. Safin has a record of 43 second-division games and two appearances for the Turkish U18 national team. Also new to the team is center-back Brandon Pursall, a 20-year-old Englishman who was previously with AFC Mousehole.

Additionally, as reported, the team has welcomed Canadian forward Oumar Diallo (19, Inter Milan), left-back Sammy Mohammad (19, RB Leipzig), Upper Austrian Kevin Lebersorger (19, VfL Wolfsburg), and 17-year-old midfielder Baran Yildiz.

The new signings (from left to right): Sammy Mohammad, Kevin Lebersorger, Armin Midzic, Moritz Schrenk, Enis Safin, Baran Yildiz, Brandon Pursall

Junior Professionals

Several promising talents from the LASK Academy OÖ have already established themselves in the second team. Armin Midzic and Moritz Schrenk are the latest youngsters to receive junior professional contracts with LASK. The 18-year-old Midzic has spent his entire career in the Athletiker's youth system and played for the Austrian U18 national team in March 2024. Goalkeeper Schrenk joined LASK in 2017 at the age of eleven and made it into the second team squad several times last season.

Armin Midzic has been awarded a junior professional contract.

Schedule

The championship kicks off for the young Black and Whites on Friday, August 2, with an away game against DSV Leoben, followed by two home matches against newly promoted SV Wildon and Union Gurten. The Linzers will play their first test match on Saturday, July 6, at 6:00 PM away at second-division team SV Horn. A week later, they will face the second team of SK Rapid at the voestalpine Stadion in Pasching at 1:00 PM. On July 19, the team will play an away game against SKU Amstetten at 7:00 PM.