Sturm Graz travel to Istanbul on Wednesday to face Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie, and they do so as the clear underdog. The winner of the two-legged matchup will move on to the Champions League play-off round, which gives this meeting immediate weight despite the size of the challenge ahead.
The match is set for the Sükrü Saracoglu Stadion, one of the more intimidating venues in Europe, and Sturm coach Fabio Ingolitsch did not try to dress up the difficulty. He said Sturm want to sell themselves as dearly as possible and work toward the best possible position for the return leg at home. He also described the trip as a mental challenge, saying it will be hard to play in one of Europe’s loudest stadiums in front of fanatical Turkish fans.
Why Sturm Graz believe they can compete
Sturm reached this stage after two wins over Heart of Midlothian, which means the Austrian club has already handled one qualifying test this summer. Ingolitsch said the team has already secured Europa League football and that it carries the necessary amount of belief and self-confidence into this tie. Jacob Hödl, meanwhile, said it is the coolest setting imaginable to play in front of such a crowd.
The recent form line is also encouraging for Sturm. They have gone 17 competitive matches without defeat, and their last loss came on 14 February, when they fell 2:1 to WSG Tirol. They opened the Bundesliga season on Saturday with a 1:1 draw away at WSG Tirol, which was not a perfect result but did extend a strong overall run.
Fenerbahce bring experience and spending power
Fenerbahce arrive with a squad that looks stacked on paper and heavily upgraded during the current transfer period. The club has invested around 80 million Euro in new players, and its roster includes players with previous links to Real Madrid, PSG, Inter, Arsenal, Olympique Marseille, Lazio and Manchester City. One of the clearest signs of that spending came last year, when Fenerbahce signed Dorgeles Nene from Red Bull Salzburg for a reported 18 to 20 million Euro.
That scale of investment only sharpens the gap between the clubs, but it does not remove the pressure on Fenerbahce. They want to get into the Champions League, and Ingolitsch made it clear that Sturm know they are the clear outsider in the tie. For that reason, the first leg is about damage control, discipline and giving themselves a realistic chance when the tie shifts back to Austria next Tuesday.
There is also some history between the clubs and Turkish football. In the 2017/18 Europa League qualifying round, Fenerbahce beat a team from Styria 2:1 and 1:1, which adds another layer to this meeting. Whether Sturm can produce a similar type of resistance in Istanbul will go a long way toward deciding whether the underdog can keep the tie alive.
