Simon Straudi’s turbulent time: “I realized something”

Not much was missing, then South Tyrolean sports history would have been written on September 21, 2019. Simon Straudi is sitting on the bench of the big, traditional club Werder Bremen for the fifth time in a row. The Hanseatic League is struggling, not only in terms of the table, but also in terms of personnel, with almost a dozen players missing due to injuries. Suddenly Leonardo Bittencourt is also struggling with problems. Coach Florian Kohfeldt turns to the bench and instructs: “Simon, warm up!”

The young footballer from St. Georgen's heart must have beat a lot faster at that moment - especially when he went through his warm-up program in front of 40.000 fans. So should it really be that time? Should a South Tyrolean footballer play in the Bundesliga for the first time in history? The answer is: Unfortunately not (yet). Because Bittencourt was able to continue playing - and for Strudi it was probably the most exciting warm-up of his life.

After a bumpy start, Straudi soon became one of the top performers in Klagenfurt. © APA / HANS PUNZ

This scene was almost two years ago now, but Simon Strudi still looks back on it fondly. “Something like that gives you a lot of energy and motivation to come here again,” explains the 22-year-old, who is currently on vacation in St. Georgen. Since September 21, 2019, a lot has happened in the career of Simon Straudi, who is considered by many to be the greatest South Tyrolean talent of recent years. It was no longer enough for a Bundesliga appearance, but he finished the season with Bremen's second guard in the fourth-class regional league, then the Corona nightmare broke out across the world - and finally the midfielder's adventure ended in Bremen, where he Kicked since 2016, over (for now). At the beginning of October last year it was announced that Straudi was moving to the Austrian second division club Klagenfurt on loan. The climb follows a bumpy start The midfielder is also aware that the move from the German Bundesliga club to the second Austrian league came as a surprise to some people. “The second league in Austria is perhaps not necessarily considered a good step,” says the Puster native, who adds: “At that time, however, it wasn’t necessarily easy to find a club due to the corona. I needed match practice at a higher level, so I was happy that it worked out with Klagenfurt. For me it turned out to be the right step because I developed primarily physically.”

“I used to say to myself: If I don’t play in the Bundesliga, I haven’t made it. Now I realized something: getting there is not easy.” Simon Straud The season in Klagenfurt and that of Straudi show astonishing parallels. Started off bumpy, got more and more solid and finally played in top form. For the club, this meant promotion to the first Austrian league - a first, as SK Austria Klagenfurt, founded in 2007, had never played in the upper house of football before.

Simon Straudi spent four years at Werder Bremen and also trained regularly with the Bundesliga team.

“After a mixed first half of the season and a change of coach, we were able to win 12 of 15 games in the second half of the season, made it into relegation at the last minute and secured promotion against St. Pölten,” says Strudi, who is also having his own season analyzed: “The transition to the much more physical Austrian football was not easy. I wasn't so happy with the first half of the season, but then I got better and better. “I can be happy with the second half of the season,” said the Pusterer, who found his regular place in the unusual position of right-back. “But I still like it better on the wing or in midfield.” Return to Werder Bremen? He doesn't yet know what will happen next for Simon Straudi. The curly-haired man still has a contract with Werder Bremen until 2022. Because the traditional club will play in the second division in the future after the bitter Bundesliga relegation, a return to the far north is no longer out of the question for the Puster native. “Playing in the second Bundesliga would be cool. But the decision is up to Bremen: If they plan with me, I would definitely think about it. If not, then I'll have to look for a new club. I’m open to everything: Klagenfurt, Germany, Italy or even Spain – a lot of things would suit me.”

And yet – Straudi hasn’t lost sight of the dream, the big goal. “I want to play in the German Bundesliga,” he says determinedly. “The Bundesliga has been my dream since I started playing football.” But over the years and experience, the 22-year-old has also become aware of something: “I used to say to myself: If I don’t play in the Bundesliga, I haven’t made it. Now I realized something. The path to get there is not easy, a lot has to come together. I will do everything to make it work again.” Simon Straudi’s perspective has changed somewhat. But not the goals.

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Simon Straudi’s turbulent time: “I realized something”

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