Sportclub Rheindorf Altach, also known as Rheindorf Altach, SCR Altach or simply SCRA, is an Austrian association football club based in Altach, Vorarlberg. It plays in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club is currently also known as CASHPOINT SCR Altach due to sponsorship of Austrian sports betting company Cashpoint.

Rheindorf Altach
Full nameSportclub Rheindorf Altach
Founded26 December 1929; 94 years ago (1929-12-26)
GroundCASHPOINT Arena
Capacity8,500
ChairmanWerner Gunz
ManagerJoachim Standfest
LeagueAustrian Bundesliga
2022–23Austrian Bundesliga, 11th of 12
WebsiteClub website
Current season

History edit

Foundation and early history edit

 
Historical chart of SCR Altach league performance

The club was founded on 26 December 1929 as the football section of the gymnastics and sports club Turnerbund Altach. In 1930, they started to compete in the Vorarlberger B-Klasse as FA Turnerbund Altach, but the club temporarily ceased to exist in 1937 and was not reorganised until the foundation of the Sportvereinigung Altach sports society on 1 March 1946. The sports society ceased to exist in 1949, with its football section becoming independent on 5 March 1949 and renaming itself to Sportclub Rheindorf Altach.

First successes (1986–2003) edit

In 1986, Rheindorf Altach were able to assert themselves for the first time in the Landesliga Vorarlberg and were promoted to the third-tier Regionalliga West.[1] They were able to quickly establish themselves among the leading clubs and after a second-place finish in 1989, they reached the Second League for the first time in club history by winning the title in 1991, clearly ahead of Salzburger AK 1914.[2] As bottom of the table, the club were embroiled in a relegation playoff fight, and in the end suffered relegation by one point. It was not until 1997 that they managed to return as Regionalliga champions, but again relegated in the 1997–98 season by one point.[2][3] In 2003, the club were in the Second League once again, and avoided a third direct relegation by beating FC Lustenau 07 by a total score of 6–4.[4]

Reaching the Bundesliga (2004–2014) edit

After surviving in the Second League in the 2003–04 season, the club managed to establish themselves in the second division and was eventually promoted to the first-division Bundesliga after finishing first in the Second League in the 2005–06 season, securing the promotion with a 1–0 win over Austria Lustenau in the penultimate match of the season.[3] Rheindorf Altach stayed in top level until relegation in 2008–09 season. They finished the Second League as third place in 2009–10, as 2nd in 2010–11, 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons. They finally promoted to top level in 2013–14 season.[2][5]

Into Europe (2014–present) edit

They finished the 2014–15 Bundesliga season in third place. With 59 points, they outperformed Grazer AK as the highest finishing promoted team in Bundesliga history.[3] The club also qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, something no club from the region of Vorarlberg had ever achieved before. After two wins against Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães with 6–2 aggregate score, Altach advanced to the play-off round.[3] There, after a 1–0 loss at home in the first leg and a goalless draw in the second leg, Altach failed to advance against Belenenses.[6] In the second year after promotion, Altach finished the 2015–16 Bundesliga season in eighth place with 40 points. The double burden at the beginning of the season with the Europa League and numerous injuries meant that the team struggled and were threatened by relegation until the end of the season.[3] The 2016–17 season had its ups and downs. The club sensationally ended 2016 as Winterkönig.[3] In November, manager Damir Canadi moved to Rapid Wien.[7] Under his successor Martin Scherb, Altach finished the spring as the second-worst team, eventually finishing fourth. Red Bull Salzburg's cup win over Rapid Wien, however, ensured that Rheindorf Altach once again made the Europa League qualifiers the following season.[8]

In the first qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, Altach beat Georgian club Chikhura Sachkhere by 2–1 on aggregate.[9] They also advanced through the second and third round, winning 4–1 on aggregate over Belarusian club Dynamo Brest and Belgian club Gent, respectively.[10][11] In the play-off round, they narrowly failed to beat Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv with an overall score of 3–2.[12] The 2017–18 season got off to a moderate start under new coach Klaus Schmidt. After a total of 31 total competitive matches in the autumn, they finished 2017 in seventh place. They eventually finished the season in eighth place, and Schmidt was dismissed at the end of the season.[13] His successor for the 2018–19 season was Werner Grabherr, who had already managed the club twice as a caretaker. He struggled as full-time coach, however, and in March 2019 he was fired with the club bottom of the league table.[14] After two weeks with Wolfgang Luisser as interim coach, former Rheindorf Altach player Alex Pastoor took over at the end of the month.[15] Under the Dutchman, the Vorarlberg side stabilised again and finally managed to stay in the league at the end of the season, eight points ahead of relegated Wacker Innsbruck. In the 2019–20 season, they were in mid-table for the entire season and finished the season in eighth place, which meant they were eligible to play-offs for European football, although they were eliminated in the first round by Austria Wien.[16] In the 2020–21 season, they were again in a relegation battle throughout the season, and in February 2021, Pastoor was released with Altach bottom of the league table.[17] Altach coaching legend Damir Canadi took over the club for a second time. Under his guidance, the team managed to stay in the league, ten points ahead of relegated SKN St. Pölten.[18] At the beginning of the 2021–22 season, however, Altach would also struggle under Canadi, and during the winter break he was released from his position.[19] Altach's failure this time was mainly due to a poor goal tally. At the winter break, they had only scored ten goals and thus had the worst performing attack in the league, while Admira had the second-worst offence with 21 goals.[20] In addition it came forward in December 2021 that key players Atdhe Nuhiu and Jan Zwischenbrugger had rallied against manager Canadi, initially without his knowledge, and had tried to change the team tactics internally.[21] Former Switzerland international Ludovic Magnin was appointed new head coach on 30 December 2021.[22]

Stadium edit

From 1950 to 1990, Rheindorf Altach played at the Sportplatz Riedle.[23] Since the opening of Stadion Schnabelholz in June 1990, Sportplatz Riedle has only been used as a training ground for the youth academy. As a result of promotion to the Austrian Bundesliga, the stadium was further expanded, and in winter 2007 a new west stand was built and the capacity increased to 8,500 spectators with 3,000 seats, with the name being changed to Cashpoint Arena for sponsorship reasons.[24] In the summer of 2015, further investments were made in the stadium. The pitch was expanded to international standard, and the field now measures 105 metres long by 68 metres wide and is provided with undersoil-heating. Furthermore, the floodlight system was upgraded, and the final expansion of the west stand added around 500 covered seats. Further plans envisage a new construction of the south stand including a roof. In the future, European games will no longer be played in Innsbruck as before, but in Altach.[25]

 
The Altach fans' stand with a tifo before a match against Sturm Graz. (2022)

European competition history edit

Overall record edit

Accurate as of 8 August 2018
Competition Played Won Drew Lost GF GA GD Win%
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 12 5 5 2 18 10 +8 041.67
Total 12 5 5 2 18 10 +8 041.67

Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

  • Q = Qualification
  • PO = Play-Off
  • QF = Quarter-final
  • SF = Semi-final

Matches edit

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 3Q   Vitória S.C. 2–1 4–1 6–2
PO   Belenenses 0–1 0–0 0–1
2017–18 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Chikhura Sachkhere 1–1 1–0 2–1
2Q   Dinamo Brest 1–1 3–0 4–1
3Q   Gent 3–1 1–1 4–2
PO   Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–1 2–2 2–3

Affiliated clubs edit

The following clubs are currently affiliated with Rheindorf Altach:

Players edit

Current squad edit

As of 8 February 2024[27]

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   MKD Dejan Stojanović
4 DF   AUT Felix Strauß
5 DF   AUT Lukas Gugganig
6 DF   AUT Constantin Reiner (on loan from Piast Gliwice)
7 FW   MLI Ousmane Diawara
8 MF   GER Mike-Steven Bähre
9 FW   KOS Atdhe Nuhiu
10 DF   AUT Dominik Reiter
11 FW   FRA Sofian Bahloul
12 DF   AUT Leonardo Lukačević
13 MF   CMR Djawal Kaiba
14 MF   AUT Vesel Demaku (on loan from Sturm Graz)
15 DF   AUT Paul Koller
17 DF   AUT Nosa Iyobosa Edokpolor
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 DF   AUT Jan Zwischenbrugger
20 FW   BRA Gustavo
21 FW   AUT Damian Maksimovic
22 DF   AUT Pascal Estrada
23 MF   AUT Lukas Jäger (captain)
24 MF   AUT Manuel Prietl
25 DF   AUT Sandro Ingolitsch
27 MF   AUT Christian Gebauer
28 MF   CRO Jan Jurčec
29 DF   BFA Mohamed Ouédraogo
30 MF   AUT Lukas Fadinger
31 GK   AUT Alexander Eckmayr
32 GK   AUT Tobias Schützenauer
33 GK   AUT Paul Piffer

Out on loan edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   AUT Jakob Odehnal (at Dornbirn until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   AUT Samuel Mischitz (at Dornbirn until 30 June 2024)

Club staff edit

As of 1 July 2023
Position Staff
President   Peter Pfanner
Vice-president   Werner Gunz
Honorary president   Johannes Engl
  Karlheinz Kopf
Chief executive officer   Christoph Längle
Sporting director   Roland Kirchler
Manager   Joachim Standfest
Assistant managers   Louis Ngwat-Mahop
  Roman Wallner
  Ahmet Cil
First-team coach   Slaven Skeledžić
Goalkeeping coach   Sebastian Brandner
Fitness coach   Rudolf Gussnig
Athletic coach   Dario Müller
Video analyst   Jonas Hammerschmidt
Chief scout   Wolfgang Meier
Club doctor   Dieter Moosmann
Physiotherapists   Sebastian Halder
  Patrick Rinderer
Sports psychologist   Klaus Kroboth
Masseur   Jürgen Köck
Academy manager/staff of the office   Philipp Netzer
Team manager   Mario Mayer

Managerial history edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Aufstieg noch lange nicht fix". Vorarlberger Online (in German). 17 November 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Altach nach Remis in St. Pölten so gut wie aufgestiegen". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). 28 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Geschichte - CASHPOINT SCR Altach". SC Rheindorf Altach (in German). Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Aufstieg Erste Liga 2003/2004 – Relegation". WorldFootball (in German). HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Altach kehrt nach fünf Jahren in die Bundesliga zurück". Vorarlberg Online (in German). 29 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Altach-Belenenses 2016 History | UEFA Europa League". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Der neue Rapid-Trainer: Damir Canadi!". SK Rapid (in German). 11 November 2016. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Scherb reagiert auf Altach-Aus". Laola1 (in German). 26 May 2017. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Altach-Chikhura 2018 History | UEFA Europa League". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Netzer & Co. mit Kantersieg in Brest". SC Rheindorf Altach (in German). 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Europa League: Altach fertigt Gent ab". Kurier (in German). 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Altach schrammt an der Sensation vorbei". SPOX Österreich (in German). 24 August 2017. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Altach-Präsident erklärt Schmidt-Aus". Sky Sport Austria (in German). 27 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Altach feuert Trainer Werner Grabherr". Laola1 (in German). 3 March 2019. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Alex Pastoor vervolgt trainersloopbaan bij SCR Altach in Oostenrijk". NU (in Dutch). 18 March 2019. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019.
  16. ^ "Spielinfo | Austria Wien - SCR Altach 1:0 | Halbfinale | Europa-League-Play-off AUT 2020". kicker (in German). 8 July 2020. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020.
  17. ^ "Altach trennt sich von Trainer Pastoor". Die Presse (in German). 23 February 2021. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021.
  18. ^ "St. Pölten gegen Altach: Ein Comeback und pikantes Wiedersehen". Kurier (in German). 10 April 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021.
  19. ^ "SCR Altach stellt Cheftrainer Damir Canadi frei". SC Rheindorf Altach (in German). 17 December 2021. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Liveticker | SCR Altach - Sturm Graz | 14. Spieltag 2021/2022 | DER SPIEGEL". Der Spiegel (in German). Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  21. ^ "Altach: Spieler kontern Canadi-Vorwurf (90minuten.at)". 90minuten (in German). 20 December 2021. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Schweizer Ludovic Magnin neuer Trainer des SCR Altach". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). 30 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Sportplatz Riedle". Gemeinde Altach (in German). 24 January 2022. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  24. ^ "Schnabelholz jetzt Cashpoint-Arena". DER STANDARD (in Austrian German). 5 July 2007.
  25. ^ Netzer, Edgar (28 October 2015). "SCR Altach treibt Stadionausbau voran - Nächste Etappe steht an". vol.at (in German). Archived from the original on 23 June 2017.
  26. ^ "Vorarlberger Fußballverband". Hypo Vorarlberg (in Austrian German). Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  27. ^ "Kampfmannschaft" [First team] (in German). SC Rheindorf Altach. Retrieved 6 June 2023.

External links edit