Grazer AK
Full nameGrazer Athletiksport Klub
Nickname(s)Die Roten (The Reds)
Rotjacken (Red Jackets)
Athletiker (Athletics)
Short nameGAK
Founded18 August 1902 (1902-08-18)
GroundMerkur-Arena
Capacity16,364
ChairmanHarald Rannegger
CoachGernot Messner
LeagueSecond League
2022–23Second League, 2nd of 16
WebsiteClub website

Grazer Athletiksport Klub (English: Graz's Athletic Sport Club; abbreviated as GAK), better known simply as Grazer AK, is an Austrian sports club based in the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria. The football section used to be one of the most popular Austrian clubs, mostly successful in the decade 1995–2005. The other sections are basketball, diving and tennis, which however all act as separate legal entities. The "GAK" football section was folded during the 2012–13 Regionalliga Mitte Season in Autumn 2012. It has since been revived and returned to Austrian Second League in 2019.[1]

History

Historical chart of GAK league performance

The beginning

The club arose from an informal association of local academics around the medical student Georg August Wagner from Prague, later a professor at the Charles University and the Charité in Berlin. Acquainted with football from his hometown, he organised the first public match in present-day Austria on 18 March 1894 in the Graz municipal park. The Grazer Athletik-Sport-Club – modeled after the Wiener AC – was established eight years later on the 72nd birthday of Emperor Francis Joseph.

European football and the golden start to the new millennium

Between 1962 and 1983 GAK has been involved in European competitions. Their first match was against Odense BK in the Cup Winners Cup in 1962. The club has made regular appearances in European cups ever since, with regular UEFA Cup appearances since the 1980s, but the highlight came on the domestic scene in 1981 when they won the Austrian Cup. The Golden years arrived in the first half of the 2000s, when they won the Austrian Cup two more times in 2000 and 2002. Their biggest success was in 2004 where they did "the double" – they managed to win the cup yet again but also the Austrian title, winning the title by one point overAustria Wein. Their last appearance in Europe was a disappointing 5–0 away defeat to RC Strasbourg in Round 1 of the UEFA Cup in the 2005–06 season.

Financial troubles and bankruptcy

During the 2006–2007 season, 'Grazer AK' went into administration. The club was docked 28 points as a result. In the 2007–2008 season, the club was not allowed to participate in the professional leagues and was relegated to the Austrian Regional League Central.[2] After a second bankruptcy, the club managed to achieve a settlement and accommodation with its creditors in September 2008, ensuring its survival. Soon after, the club started having difficulties again after it could not recover from its relegation to the Regionalliga Mitte and eventually was dissolved in 2012.

New start

A phoenix club was set up by the fans soon after the club was dissolved in 2012 called Grazer AC and started from the bottom tier in the 2013–14 season. On 14 March 2014, Grazer AC at an extraordinary meeting was considered to be a continuation of the original "GAK" in agreement with its umbrella association. After winning every single championship, the club made its return to professional football for the 2019–20, with their promotion to the 2nd tier.

Supporters

The highest attendance average reached the red jackets in the championship season 2003/2004. This season, an average of 9234 pilgrimage to the home games of the "Athletics". The average attendance since the forced descent had settled at "only" 3500, but the quality of the organized support had risen. The "curve" was in sector 22, before relegation to the Regionalliga in sector 25. Despite the third-rate fate pilgrimage several hundred fans to the away games. The ultra-fan groups are the Red Firm, the Society Graz, the Tifosi Rosso Bianco and the Everreds. Parts of the fan scene maintain friendship to KFC Uerdingen 05, NK Čelik Zenica and also SV Austria Salzburg.

Graz Derby

GAK have a big rivalry with cross-town rivals Sturm Graz with whom they contest the Graz Derby. In 1974 there was big opposition from both sets of fans against a proposed merger to become FC Graz. Since 1920, excluding the friendly matches (especially before the first official Styrian Cup in 1920), 199 matches have been played between the two, of which there were: 185 encounters in the league (130 at the professional level and 55 at amateur level in the Styrian League); an additional seven encounters in Austrian Cup (including one final that was won by the GAK in 2002); 1 match in Austrian Supercup; 2 meetings in the Tschammerpokal and 4 games in the Styrian Cup. The very first Derby took place in 1911, the last was dated 2 Nov 2023. The Red Devils are the most successful Team in the lookwise of local rivalries. In October, the 19th 2022, a long period without vivid opponent ship find his end, when both Clubs are fighting each other at the last 16 of the ÖFB-Cup.

Past seasons

These are the seasons that the team has done since it was re-founded at the end of the year 2012.

Season League Level Place MP W D L GF GA GD Pts Austrian Cup
2013–141. Klasse Mitte A (VIII)812220201241211262not qualified
2014–15Gebietsliga Mitte (VII)71262312107297870not qualified
2015–16Unterliga Mitte (VI)6126223188196969not qualified
2016–17Oberliga Mitte/West (V)5126149365293651not qualified
2017–18Landesliga Steiermark (IV)4130215461243768not qualified
2018–19Regionalliga Mitte (III)3130215470284268Semi-finals
2019–20First League (II)21530710134050-1031Second round
2020–21First League (II)2630137104642446First round
2021–22First League (II)2730137104739846First round
2022–23First League (II)2230179452292360Third round
Green marks a season followed by promotion

European competition

Results

Season Competition Round Opponent Aggregate 1st leg 2nd leg
1962–63 UEFA Cup Winners Cup Round 2 Denmark B 1909 Odense 4:6 1:1 (H) 3:5 (A)
1964–65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Round 1 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia NK Zagreb 2:9 2:3 (A) 0:6 (H)
1968–69 UEFA Cup Winners Cup Round 1 Netherlands ADO Den Haag 1:6 1:4 (A) 0:2 (H)
1973–74 UEFA Cup Round 1 Greece Panachaiki 1:3 0:1 (H) 1:2 (A)
1981–82 UEFA Cup Winners Cup Round 1 Soviet Union Dinamo Tbilisi 2:4 0:2 (A) 2:2 (H)
1982–83 UEFA Cup Round 1 Romania Corvinul Hunedoara 1:4 1:1 (H) 0:3 (A)
1996–97 UEFA Cup Qualification Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vojvodina 7:1 2:0 (H) 5:1 (A)
Round 1 Belgium Germinal Ekeren (a) 3:3 1:3 (A) 2:0 (H)
Round 2 Italy Inter Milan 1:1
(3:5 p)		 0:1 (A) 1:0 a.e.t.
(3:5 p) (H)
1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group stage Denmark Silkeborg IF 5:4 2:0 (H)
Wales Ebbw Vale 0:0 (A)
Croatia NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac 1:3 (H)
France SC Bastia 2:1 (A)
1998–99 UEFA Cup Qualifying Round 2 Finland VPS 3:0 0:0 (A) 3:0 (H)
Round 1 Bulgaria Litex Lovech 3:1 1:1 (A) 2:0 (H)
Round 2 France AS Monaco 3:7 3:3 (H) 0:4 (A)
1999–00 UEFA Cup Qualifying Round 2 Faroe Islands KÍ Klaksvík 9:0 5:0 (A) 4:0 (H)
Round 1 Slovakia FC Spartak Trnava 4:2 3:0 (H) 1:2 (A)
Round 2 Greece Panathinaikos (a) 2:2 2:1 (H) 0:1 (A)
2000–01 UEFA Cup Round 1 Slovakia 1. FC Košice 3:2 3:2 (A) 0:0 (H)
Round 2 Spain Espanyol 1:4 0:4 (A) 1:0 (H)
2001–02 UEFA Cup Qualifikation Faroe Islands HB Tórshavn 6:2 2:2 (A) 4:0 (H)
Round 2 Netherlands FC Utrecht 3:6 0:3 (A) 3:3 (H)
2002–03 UEFA Champions League Qualifying Round 2 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol 6:1 4:1 (A) 2:0 (H)
Qualifying Round 3 Russia Lokomotiv Moscow 3:5 0:2 (H) 3:3 (A)
2002–03 UEFA Cup Round 1 Cyprus APOEL 1:3 0:2 (A) 1:1 (H)
2003–04 UEFA Champions League Qualifying Round 2 Albania Tirana 7:2 5:1 (A) 2:1 (H)
Qualifying Round 3 Netherlands Ajax 2:3 1:1 (H) 1:2 (s.g.) (A)
2003–04 UEFA Cup Round 1 Norway Vålerenga IF 1:1 (a) 0:0 (A) 1:1 (H)
2004–05 UEFA Champions League Qualifying Round 3 England Liverpool 1:2 0:2 (H) 1:0 (A)
2004–05 UEFA Cup Round 1 Bulgaria Litex Lovech 5:1 5:0 (H) 0:1 (A)
Group stage France AJ Auxerre 5:4 0:0 (A)
Poland Amica Wronki 3:1 (H)
Scotland Rangers 0:3 (A)
Netherlands AZ Alkmaar 2:0 (H)
1/16 finals England Middlesbrough 3:4 2:2 (H) 1:2 (A)
2005–06 UEFA Cup Qualifying Round 2 Moldova Nistru Otaci 3:0 2:0 (A) 1:0 (H)
Round 1 France Strasbourg 0:7 0:2 (H) 0:5 (A)

Derby statistics vs. SK Sturm Graz

(as of 23.8.2005) Total (in 1st Austrian League):

  • 46 Won
  • 42 Drawn
  • 42 Lost

(Goals: 174:168)

Current squad

As of 11 July, 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Austria AUT Jakob Meierhofer
5 DF Germany GER Yannick Oberleitner
6 MF Austria AUT Markus Rusek
7 MF Japan JPN Atsushi Zaizen
9 FW Austria AUT Daniel Maderner
10 MF Austria AUT Christian Lichtenberger
11 MF Georgia (country) GEO Levan Eloshvili
13 MF Austria AUT Marco Perchtold (captain)
15 DF Austria AUT Lukas Graf
16 MF Austria AUT Thomas Mayer
17 MF Austria AUT Thomas Schiestl
18 DF Austria AUT Sebastian Jost
19 DF Austria AUT Marco Gantschnig
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF Austria AUT Thorsten Schriebl
21 MF Austria AUT Michael Lang
22 DF Austria AUT Felix Holzhacker
23 MF Austria AUT Paolo Jager
24 DF Austria AUT Felix Köchl
26 GK Austria AUT Christoph Nicht
27 DF Austria AUT Benjamin Rosenberger
30 DF Austria AUT Miloš Jovičić
31 GK Sweden SWE Haris Mujanic
32 MF Austria AUT Martin Murg
33 GK Austria AUT Maximilian Fahler
70 FW Austria AUT Jan Stefanon
99 FW Cameroon CMR Michael Cheukoua

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Austria AUT Lukas Alterdinger (at Grödig)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW Croatia CRO Filip Smoljan (at SC Kalsdorf)
— FW Austria AUT Paul Kiedl (at SC Kalsdorf)

Managerial history

Honours

GAK celebrates its Austrian Championship 2004 at Hauptplatz in Graz.

References

  1. ↑ "2019/20 Ende! Der GAK trifft auf den SV Lafnitz". Im letzten Spiel der Saison treffen wir auf den SV Lafnitz. ... (in German). Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  2. ↑ "Austria's GAK agree to leave top flight". FIFA. 11 April 2005. Archived from the original on 18 September 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2006.
  3. ↑ Rijavec, Matej (25 June 2010). "Mura išče novega trenerja: Šimundža skočil čez mejo" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
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