"It is important that we believe in our work."

Serie B is entering its final stretch. Six rounds remain. FC Südtirol resumes play in Cesena on Easter Monday (12:30 PM) after the international break. After managing only one point from their last four matches, the situation is somewhat tense again. "We've had tougher moments this season," said FCS director Hannes Fink. "You can never afford to be relaxed in this league anyway," emphasized the former FCS captain. s+: The lead over the relegation zone has shrunk to four points. Is FC Südtirol worried again? Hannes Fink: We were certainly never careless. We were always aware that we would have to fight hard to stay in the league. We still need six points to remain in the league. That's our goal. After the 4-0 victory at Reggiana on March 3rd, a place in the top 8 seemed only a matter of time. What happened next? Fink: We pulled ourselves out of a difficult situation thanks to an extremely strong run. But we also knew it would be very hard to maintain that level of performance. There are always good and not-so-good phases during a season. Injuries are crucial, but so is the timing of your match against a particular opponent. It makes a difference whether you're playing Pescara now or already played them in January. The same can be said about Cesena. Cesena is a different team today than they were three weeks ago. The games are always close, the league is incredibly tight. Serie B doesn't forgive mistakes. If we have all our players available, we can make the necessary substitutions. With a lot of players out, it becomes difficult. Not everyone can be replaced equally. The game against Reggiana was also special because, for the first time, four South Tyroleans were in the starting eleven in Serie B... Fink: This kind of thing makes us proud and shows us that we're on the right track. We won't produce another Raphael Kofler every year. But it's important that we believe in our work. We want to develop good South Tyrolean footballers. Players like Simone and Federico Davi ensure that our values will continue to be upheld at FC Südtirol in the future. Is Raphael Kofler the greatest South Tyrolean FCS talent of the past 30 years? Fink: Yes, because he has everything it takes to succeed in top-level football. He's extremely strong physically and also has this will to constantly improve. His professionalism is exceptional; he basically has the maturity of a 35-year-old. Could the current knee injury be an obstacle to a move to Serie A in the summer? Fink: Kofler has a bone bruise, it's not a particularly serious injury. He's currently undergoing a rehabilitation program and receiving the best possible medical care. To be honest, I'd be very surprised if Kofler doesn't move to Serie A this year. Many things were changed in the FCS youth academy last summer... Fink: Manuel Scavone is responsible for the U15, U16, and U17 teams, while Michael Bacher and Maximilian Gruber, as technical director, are responsible for the U11, U12, U13, and U14 teams. This year, we wanted to establish a unified approach for the older youth teams in terms of playing philosophy and training methods – with an eye toward the professional team. The goal is to develop players for the first team. For the younger teams, the main focus is on finding the right players for us – from all over South Tyrol. We used to have a U9 team at FCS; this year we still have a U11 team, but next year the youngest team will only be a U12. While we will organize training sessions for ten-year-olds to get to know South Tyrol's football talents, it makes more sense for these players to initially remain with their local clubs. The Alperia Junior Camps will start again soon. They themselves were "discovered" at a camp on the Ritten plateau... Fink: I was twelve years old at the time and then moved to the FC Südtirol U17 regional team in the fall. Of course, we keep a close eye on which talents stand out at the camps. But it's also about fun and enjoyment. Many of the children participate who don't play for a football club. Therefore, it's important to find the right mix. Last year we had 1350 children at the camps – all potential FCS fans. Speaking of fans – the Drusus Stadium has never been sold out in the past two years. South Tyrolean football fans clearly want more than just a relegation battle... Fink: The fight to avoid relegation is our reality. Staying in Serie B is a tremendous achievement. That doesn't mean the club doesn't want to grow. The fan base is also growing. All 1350 children who attended the junior camps last year returned home with an FCS jersey. Most of them had already been to the Drusus Stadium. Back when I was still playing, maybe 10 percent of the kids came to the stadium. Now, almost all of them attend FC Südtirol matches. When we ask about their favorite club, FC Südtirol always comes up alongside names like Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Juventus, and AC Milan. What are your thoughts on the crisis in Italian football? Fink: If Italy misses the World Cup three times, something is clearly wrong. The Italian national team may not be the same as it was in 2006, but it still has very strong players, players who play for Arsenal, Manchester City, Inter, or Juventus. Certain conditions need to change. These days, you have to give a player a contract starting at the U14 level. Instead of investing in coaches and infrastructure, clubs have to spend money to secure U16 players, because otherwise they can transfer freely every year. The only beneficiaries of this rule are, once again, the player agents. Why have so few players moved from Serie B to Serie A in years? Because it's cheaper to sign a player from abroad. That's where the changes need to be made.

Serie B Italian	SP	TV	P
1. Venice	34	68:29	72
2.Monza	34	53:27	69
3. Frosinone	34	65:33	69
4. Palermo	34	55:28	65
5. Catanzaro	33	51:40	54
6. Modena	33	44:29	51
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"It is important that we believe in our work."

FCS director Hannes Fink in an interview with s+ about the Serie B relegation battle, mega-talent Kofler, the attendance figures in the Drusus Stadium, new fans, the FCS youth and much more.

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