LASK CEO: ”Don’t blame the coach – blame yourself. Always start by looking at yourself”
PR | Chief Executive Officer of LASK, Siegmund Gruber.
Siegmund Gruber, CEO of Austria's LASK, believes it's time for club owners to reassess how they evaluate a manager's performance. He argues that simply looking at league standings doesn't fully capture the manager's performance.
Gruber notes this approach is a two-way street, emphasizing that managers should see themselves as part of long-term projects and adapt their strategies and mindset accordingly.
Why it matters: A decade ago, LASK faced severe financial difficulties, but a group of local businessmen transformed the club. Today, LASK ranks among Austria's top clubs, with an even more ambitious 10-year plan ahead.
The perspective: The challenge lies in shifting the focus of a football club’s stakeholders – fans, employees, sponsors, etc. – away from just short-term on-pitch results to measuring success by more than league standings.
20 November 2023 - 6:55 PM
Siegmund Gruber was in high spirits on a July day in 2016 after LASK, the team he presided over, narrowly beat Parndorf, a third-tier Austrian football team, advancing in the Austrian Cup. However, his mood shifted upon meeting Oliver Glasner, then LASK's head coach who later moved to prominent positions at Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. Glasner was far from pleased.
"He was furious," Gruber recalls, surprised by the coach
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