Aigner: “It was extremely difficult for me at the beginning”
After Csaba Bukta, SCR Altach secured the second youngster from the Red Bull Salzburg team in Sebastian Aigner last summer. After initial difficulties, the 21-year-old has now established himself in Vorarlberg and talks to the kicker about his time in the “Ländle” and the relegation battle.
Sebastian Aigner has arrived in Altach.
GEPA images
At FC Liefering, Sebastian Aigner fought for the top spots, at SCR Altach he is currently against relegation. The 21-year-old ex-talent from the Red Bull Academy has been part of the Vorarlberg squad since last summer and has already experienced a number of formative moments in his first half of the year in the Bundesliga. “It was a change for me at the beginning”, says Aigner about his start in the “Ländle”. “The first time away from home, then the step into the Bundesliga, it took me a while to settle in. In the meantime, things have developed well in the last few months and hopefully it will continue like this.”
Bundesliga – 22nd matchday
After he was one of the permanent staff in Liefering last season and convincing there with constant performances, the Altacher struck and secured the next young footballer from Salzburg after Csaba Bukta. At the Vorarlberg Bundesliga club it is enough at the beginning, but only for short assignments. A role that Aigner still had to get used to at first, as he admits: “In the beginning it was extremely difficult for me because I only got my minutes from a few short assignments. Sure, if you want to come to the new club and play straight away, But I also had to accept that when I didn’t play that much in the first few games. But I also knew that that could change at any time with good performances in training and in games I had to learn something, which I managed to do in the end.”
Relegation battle at the beginning of the Bundesliga career
In the meantime, Aigner has worked his way into defensive midfield, was in the starting eleven in seven of the last eight parties and is still part of the starting line-up after Damir Canadi changed coaches to Ludovic Magnin. The youngster evaluates the first performances under the new coach positively: “You can already tell a difference compared to autumn. Our playing system is now even more designed for own ball possession. Of course, the focus now is clearly on getting our points. After the changes in winter, it was clear that it would take time for the automatisms to settle in. We will take the experiences of the last few weeks into the playoffs and do everything we can to stay in the league.”
Although the start under the new head coach failed with three defeats, Aigner is likely to be confident that the Swiss can turn things around in the upcoming qualifying group: “There has definitely been a new impetus in the team. We had a hard preparation, which was also extremely important for us to get up to the level physically. The training camp in Turkey also helped us to internalize the coach’s system.”
With nine league defeats in a row, Altach’s backpack could hardly be heavier. Since the end of October, the liberation has been seen in western Austria in order to gain important motivation for the coming relegation battle. “Of course, it was our goal to score points before the start of the qualifying group. Nevertheless, thanks to the points shared, we still have it in our hands and will continue to do our best to achieve our goals,” said Aigner, who started his Bundesliga career is struggling with one of the most difficult situations.
Aigner will “take on even more responsibility”
The 21-year-old draws important lessons for his future career from the exhausting fight in the lower third: “You can gain a lot of experience there. Of course you don’t want to be in this situation, but we’re here now and we’re fighting week after week to stay up. I also want to take on more responsibility on the pitch and show even more presence so that it works.”
His time in the Red Bull Salzburg academy, where he went through all the youth teams from the age of eight, at FC Liefering in the second division, but did not make the leap to the professionals of the Mozartstadt team, put him in the highest for his first few months In any case, Austria’s soccer class is well prepared: “You benefit enormously from that. If you go through the academy at Red Bull and go straight from the U18s to the 2nd division at FC Liefering, that will help you enormously as a player because you are confronted with adult football at a young age. Then you can already prepare for what awaits you in terms of toughness and athleticism.”
Anticipation for the Salzburg game
But now he has cut himself off from his long-standing regular club and wants to continue his career in Altach. Should the current bottom of the table manage to stay up in the league, that would be the first major success in his young career as a professional footballer. Before that, important points have to be collected in the basic round.
Finally, here’s ex-club Red Bull Salzburg, against whom Mann caused a positive surprise in their first meeting with a 1-1 draw. “In the first leg we showed what is possible with a tactically disciplined performance. We want to follow that up again. I’m really looking forward to playing where I grew up again and playing against some of the professionals I used to play with It’s also nice to see a few familiar faces again.