Sturm are coming from another successful season, as they improved on their last season's third-placed Bundesliga finish, while also winning the Austrian Cup.
The Grazers have been a well-run club during the majority of the recent history, with their long-serving boss Franco Foda improving his footballing philosophy with each passing year. This campaign was no exception, as the Blackies looked very strong in the league from the get-go and even had a decent European cameo, as they gave Turkish giants Fenerbahce a run for their money before being edged out on aggregate.
Sturm ended the first half of the season as the league leaders, but were eventually victims of their own success, as Foda's growing reputation lead to him being appointed the new manager of the Austrian national team, with the Grazers going on to replace him with Heiko Vogel.
Vogel is a more defensive-minded manager than Foda and his players badly struggled to adapt to his methods early in the second half of the season but eventually improved. Salzburg, with their spring season form, were always going to prove too strong to overcome in the title race, but the Grazers did well to finish second and also edged out the Red Bulls in the Austrian Cup final to add a bit of silverware to their collection.
Although their season as a whole was certainly a successful one, Sturm owe their finishing position mainly to the points they accumulated in the first half of the campaign. They have shown some promise under Vogel as well but will need to become more proficient at unlocking defences if they are to prosper under their current boss.
