Schwab: "Always respect for Rapid, but..."

Sixth competitive match, sixth win. The results are perfect for SK Rapid's start to the season.

Although some fans are not entirely satisfied with the manner of play, purely by the numbers, the Hütteldorf side extended their strong start to the new season with a 2-1 victory at SV Ried (Match report >>>).

The big story of the Hütteldorf side's away match in Ried was the reunion with an old friend: From 2017 to 2020, Stefan Schwab was captain of the Green-Whites.

This summer, the now 35-year-old midfielder moved to SV Ried after his adventures abroad in Greece and Germany, playing against his long-time employer from Vienna-Hütteldorf for the first time in over twelve years on Sunday.

"Pure Joy" after scoring against his former club

Schwab was immediately Ried's most dangerous player in front of goal, which he demonstrated with his shot hitting the crossbar in the first half.

"I saw that I hit it perfectly. I thought it might go in, but then it hit the crossbar and bounced out – a shame," Schwab lamented in a "Sky" interview about the missed opportunity.

In the second half, he had better luck with a header. Ante Bajic, like Schwab a former Rapid professional, delivered the ball from the right side to the far post, where Schwab had all the time in the world to win the aerial duel. After his goal, he celebrated jubilantly, despite his long history in Hütteldorf.

"We were 1-0 down, chased the game for a long time, and then the equalizer at 1-1 brought relief. That's pure joy, of course," Schwab explained, adding: "Of course, I always have respect for Rapid, but joy and emotions are part of it."

Horn's Scoring Debut

Jannes Horn appears as a goal-scorer much less frequently on match reports. The left-back has been playing for Rapid for over a year but had only celebrated a single competitive goal in Green-White.

On July 24, 2025, Horn gave Rapid the lead against Decic Tuzi in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers; the goal against Ried is his first in the ADMIRAL Bundesliga. In fact, Horn had scored both of his professional goals for Rapid.

The German is accordingly happy that the spell is broken: "It's always something special for me; I don't score very often." Horn seems to have gotten a taste for it in the interview. "I scored the first one this season; now others will follow," he added, laughing.

Nonetheless, Horn doesn't take his new role as a goal-scorer too seriously. "I always used to joke, 'I have more kids than goals.' Not anymore."

Horn's goal tally has now caught up with his two young sons. Which of the two numbers will go up next? "My wife is already thinking about it, but we'll see," Horn quipped.

Hoff Thorup counters Herzog's criticism

Rapid defender Horn even views the triple burden of the ÖFB Cup and European qualification positively: "We only want 'English weeks' (midweek games). It's fun; playing football is the best thing there is. Of course, it's exhausting, but we don't want to complain."

Head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup, however, took the opportunity to counter Andreas Herzog's criticism regarding recent weeks' rotation: "I always get criticism from Austrian experts when I say we're mentally tired due to all the travel. But the Ried lads were at home and could sleep or prepare for the match, while we were still on the plane."

"A bit the same story as in other games"

Despite the travel fatigue, the Rapid coach is satisfied with his players. At least for the majority of the match.

"We delivered an acceptable first half. We had the game on a good track; they only had one chance when they shot from 30 meters," Hoff Thorup referred to Schwab's crossbar effort shortly before halftime.

"We also started the second half really well and had two very big chances where we should have made it 2-0," the coach mentioned, without naming his striker Ercan Kara, who was unlucky in front of goal today.

The weakness in finishing and the difficulties in extending a lead rather than just managing it are a known problem for Rapid: "That's also a bit the same story as in some other games."

ADMIRAL Bundesliga Table >>>