Dietmar Kuhbauer said LASK Linz must play with great rigor if it is to get a good result against Sporting on Wednesday, and the 55-year-old made clear he would rather leave Estádio José Alvalade with a win than with a draw. Speaking from the press room at Alvalade, he said LASK Linz wants to be bold, but only if it is also disciplined enough to handle a Sporting side that has started the Champions campaign strongly.
The reason the comments matter today is simple: this is the eve of a Champions match, and Sporting arrive with weight behind them after two strong opening games. Kuhbauer pointed to Luis Suárez as one of many good players in the side and said LASK Linz will have to think about the whole team, not just one scorer. He added that the Austrian side, which beat Lustenau 4-0 at the weekend, would like not to lose in Alvalade, but that only comes if it reaches its maximum level.
That is where the challenge sharpens. Kuhbauer said a pause like the one Portuguese teams had in UEFA competitions would not have hurt, but LASK Linz did not get that break and must face the task anyway. He also answered Rui Borges by saying LASK Linz wants to play a great game and win, though he added that Sporting's coach already seemed to know what LASK Linz would do. That leaves the visitors with a familiar problem: wanting to attack the game while keeping enough restraint to survive it.
There is recent history here, too. LASK Linz and Sporting met twice in 2019/2020, with one win and one loss for LASK Linz, and Kuhbauer said the memory is good even if it is distant. He also recalled the 4-1 win in Alvalade in 2020/2021, a result that still matters because it shows this trip is not impossible. But results from the past do not change the present equation. LASK Linz will need a near-perfect evening to leave Sporting with anything, and Kuhbauer made plain that anything less than that is unlikely to be enough.
