Julian Bacher returns to Stegen. © Franz Griessmair

Stegen: Lots of confidence and a romantic return

Just a few weeks ago, it was not clear whether Stegen would qualify for the 2024/25 Oberliga championship. That is now a thing of the past, and instead the Pustertal team's confidence is growing day by day.

July 11, 2024

From: det

It has been a real rollercoaster ride that Stegen has experienced in recent weeks. At the beginning of May, the Oberliga underdog celebrated last-minute survival, but then the Pustertal team began to show signs of disintegration, and even their enrollment in the Oberliga seemed to be in jeopardy. “We are seriously considering whether we should field a team,” said sporting director Werner Unterhofer at the end of May im SportNews-Conversation.

The big problem: With the new sports law, a large number of players would have been free, but these Regulation was postponed at the last minute for one year(SportNews reported) – to the delight of Stegina. Now, at the beginning of July, the Pustertal team is once again full of confidence. "99 percent of the team is ready. We will begin training on July 22nd," said Werner Unterhofer.

Werner Unterhofer, sporting director of Stegen.

"The majority of the players have agreed to play," says Unterhofer. "We still have to clarify some personnel details, but on the whole things are looking good." No longer in the team are Noah Gietl (possibly to Ahrntal), Florian Appenbichler (SPG Gsies), Alan Bosa (St. Lorenzen), Alex Leitner (Bressanone) and Patrick Bacher (Bruneck). For goalkeeper Fabian Masoni, who is also toying with the idea of ​​a change, the last word has not yet been spoken, says Unterhofer.

Julian Bacher does not want to let Stegen down

Instead, there is a spectacular return: Julian Bacher, who was once captain in Stegen and most recently played for St. Georgen, will once again be pulling the strings in Stegina's midfield. His move to SSV Brixen was actually already considered a done deal, but then Bacher changed his mind.

"Julian has noticed what the situation is like here. He said that he would be very sorry if there were no longer a team in Stegen. And he confirmed that he would like to help us in this situation," said Unterhofer about the midfielder's romantic return.

Stegen’s new coach: Gennaro Covelli.

Julian Bacher’s father is also likely to play a role in this return. Peter He will be the assistant coach for Stegen in the coming season. The Pustertal team’s head coach will be Gennaro Covelli who most recently worked for Dietenheim/Aufhofen for three years. Goalkeeper coach Dieter Schatzer completes the coaching trio.

Looking forward to the new season

In addition to Julian Bacher, Lothar Berger new to the team. The central defender was a mainstay at St. Lorenzen last season, which was promoted from the 2nd to the 1st amateur league. "We are also bringing in a lot of young talent and are still in contact with one or two experienced players," says Werner Unterhofer.

"Confidence has increased again, also because we were able to welcome some new people to the board who are helping us out. Our goal is to form a group that will stay together in Stegen over the next few years," Unterhofer concludes.