Val Gardena celebrates its first promotion to the Oberliga. © Thomas Debelyak

“I never thought I would cry over football”

FC Gröden made a piece of South Tyrolean football history on Sunday, achieving promotion to the Oberliga for the first time. The reactions afterward were very emotional.

June 02, 2025

From the Briamasco Stadium in Trento

FC Val Gardena will be playing in the Oberliga starting next season: that's something to savor. The valley of woodcarvers, winter sports stars, and ice hockey prodigies will also have a football team in the future, competing with the region's best clubs. The runner-up in the regional league won the crazy playoff match against Nago Torbole on penalties on Sunday evening at Trento's Briamasco Stadium, thus securing promotion.

Trainer René Rella had tears in his eyes after the final whistle. "I never thought I'd cry about football, but today it happened," he said in our interview, while also talking about the greatest success of his coaching career.

Michael Bacher played the final game of his illustrious career – which has taken him all the way to professional football – on Sunday. He, too, was overjoyed after the match.



Even though he didn’t score on Sunday, striker Jan Martin Vinatzer one of the best in the field. The former professional (he scored 18 goals this season) answered our questions in an interview.