The coaching staff of SV Lana, with head coach Kurt Forer (center) at the helm, have had a lot to do in recent days.

Lana in the relegation battle: "It will be extremely tough"

SV Lana has had a strange few weeks in the Landesliga. In an interview, coach Kurt Forer reflected on this and spoke about the reasons why things aren't going smoothly for the Red and Whites again this year.

March 20, 2026

From: d/sn/av

A 1:9 defeat against Tscherms Marling was followed by an appeal initiated by Lana against their Burggrafen neighbor The outcome of the case, in which the South Tyrolean Football Association's sports court made its position quite clear, left SVL with nothing but ridicule from the football community and financial losses. On the pitch, however, the regional league team recovered and put their direct rivals, Freienfeld, in their place.

First the 1:9 defeat against Tscherms Marling, then a 2:1 victory against Freienfeld: How did you clear the players' heads?

Kurt Forer: "It was the biggest challenge of my coaching career. I even started to doubt myself. I'll never forget the first training session afterward. Heads were hanging low, no talking in the locker room or on the pitch. But it wouldn't have been right to criticize the players. We had to put that game behind us, even though you never really forget it. The second training session went better, the atmosphere was good at the final training session before the Freienfeld game – and then we deservedly won that match. I have to give the team a huge compliment."


Can you explain the 1:9 scoreline, especially since you had previously managed a draw against Naturns and Olimpia?

“We traveled to Marling with confidence, determined to take something away from the game. After all, we had previously managed to secure a point against Naturns with ten men and had also come back from 0-2 down against Olimpia Meran. But then the game completely spiraled out of control. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. We weren't prepared to react. The whole team had an abysmal day, not just a few players. In the end, we just hoped the game would end soon. And also that it wouldn't end in an even heavier defeat, especially since Tscherms Marling had the chances to do so.”


The road to staying in the league remains rocky: Can Lana make it?

"I'm convinced of it. It will be extremely tough and difficult, especially since we're missing Manuel Giocondo so much. But we'll make it! I don't care who gets relegated. We'd be wise to focus only on ourselves and not on others."


Before the season started, would you have thought that it would be so difficult for Lana this year?

"We're young, but we already have some top-quality players. We had a strong start to the season, and the first-round win against Naturns didn't necessarily do us any favors. In the long run, we lack the leaders who can handle the relegation battle. There's a lot of self-doubt, and after falling behind, we lack the confidence to get back up. I admit: It's one of my toughest years as a coach."

State league: 22th matchday

Bruneck - Olimpia Meran (Saturday, 15 p.m.)
Gargazon - Stegen
Terlan - Gitschberg Jochtal
Naturns - Salurn (Sunday, 15 p.m.)
Tscherms Marling - Latsch
Leifers - Freienfeld
Southern Wine Route - Schenna
Natz - Lana

Oberliga: 24th matchday

Val Gardena - Ahrntal (Sunday, 15 p.m.)
Union Trento - Bolzano FC
Benacense - SSV Brixen
Virtus Bozen - Comano
St. Paul's - Lavis
Levico - Partschins
St. Georgen - Rovereto
Mori - Tramin