Rapid secured second place only on the final day of the season and all campaign Green and Whites lacked consistency to be considered serious title-contenders. Still after some important players left last summer and star winger Murg departed just 4 rounds into the new season Rapid did relatively well.
The first 7 rounds were promising (W5 D2), but then defeats against modest teams of Ried and Tirol exposed defensive weaknesses that proved issue all season. The fact that both Dibon and Schobesberger spent the entire campaign sidelined didn’t help the defensive stability either, with 19-year-old Greiml having some solid displays mixed with very poor ones in the heart of the back 4.
Rapid ended up having slow end to the regular season (W2 D3 L1) and the title looked lost even before the play-offs began. Things could have been much worse though with Rapid losing 3 in a row in May, but 3:0 home win over LASK in the last round enough to see them jumping from 4th to 2nd.
Knasmüllner, Fountas and Kara all had mixed season as their form was one of ups and downs. 17-year-old Demir enjoyed great first campaign at senior level though and he’s set to play much more often next term. However, the big star was captain Ljubicic with his calming presence in the heart of the midfield.
Rapid need to strengthen their attack if they are to mount serious title-challenge next term. Also the defending has to improve and adding 1-2 players in that area also likely during the summer months.
