# 2023–24 SK Sturm Graz season

The 2023–24 SK Sturm Graz season was the club's 118th season in existence and its 58th consecutive season in the second division of Austrian football. In addition to the domestic league, Sturm Graz participated in this season's edition of the Austrian Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. The season covers the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.
In the 2023–24 season, Sturm Graz clinched their fourth league title after a 2–0 win over Austria Klagenfurt on the final matchday, ending Red Bull Salzburg dominance for the last decade, in addition to securing a Champions League group stage berth for the first time since 2000–01.

## Players
### First-team squad

    As of 19 January 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | NED | Kjell Scherpen (on loan from Brighton) |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Max Johnston |
| 4 | MF | SVN | Jon Gorenc Stanković |
| 5 | DF | SUI | Gregory Wüthrich |
| 6 | DF | AUT | Aleksandar Borković |
| 8 | MF | AUT | Alexander Prass |
| 9 | FW | POL | Szymon Włodarczyk |
| 10 | MF | GEO | Otar Kiteishvili |
| 11 | MF | AUT | Manprit Sarkaria |
| 14 | MF | ESP | Javi Serrano (on loan from Atlético Madrid) |
| 15 | FW | DEN | William Bøving |
| 17 | FW | CPV | Bryan Teixeira |
| 18 | FW | DEN | Mika Biereth (on loan from Arsenal) |
| 19 | MF | SVN | Tomi Horvat |
| 20 | FW | NOR | Seedy Jatta |
| 21 | MF | AUT | Samuel Stückler |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | DF | BIH | Jusuf Gazibegović |
| 23 | MF | AUT | Vesel Demaku |
| 24 | DF | BEL | Dimitri Lavalée (on loan from Mechelen) |
| 25 | MF | AUT | Stefan Hierländer |
| 27 | DF | AUT | Gabriel Haider |
| 28 | DF | AUT | David Schnegg |
| 29 | FW | GHA | Mohammed Fuseini |
| 31 | GK | AUT | Luka Marić |
| 35 | DF | AUT | Niklas Geyrhofer |
| 38 | FW | AUT | Leon Grgic |
| 40 | GK | AUT | Matteo Bignetti |
| 42 | DF | AUT | David Affengruber |
| 43 | GK | AUT | Henry Timothy Obi |
| 44 | DF | MLI | Amadou Danté |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | AUT | Christoph Lang (at Hartberg until 30 June 2024) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | AUT | Luca Kronberger (at Tirol until 30 June 2024) |

## Transfers
### In

| Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee | Date | Source |
| DF | [[ ]] | [[ ]] | | 1 July 2023 | |

### Out

| Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee | Date | Source |
| DF | [[ ]] | [[ ]] | | 1 July 2023 | |

## Pre-season and friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Austrian Bundesliga | 30 July 2023 | 19 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | Winners | 32 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 56 | 23 | +33 | 059.38 |
| Austrian Cup | 22 July 2023 | 1 May 2024 | First round | Winners | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 100.00 |
| UEFA Champions League | 8 August 2023 | 15 August 2023 | Third qualifying round | Third qualifying round | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 000.00 |
| UEFA Europa League | 21 September 2023 | 14 December 2023 | Group stage | Group stage | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 016.67 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League | 15 February 2024 | 14 March 2024 | Knockout round play-offs | Round of 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 49 | 27 | 12 | 10 | 89 | 52 | +37 | 055.10 |
Source: Soccerway

### Austrian Bundesliga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Red Bull Salzburg | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 45 | 12 | +33 | 50 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 2 | Sturm Graz | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 37 | 15 | +22 | 46 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 3 | LASK | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 26 | 18 | +8 | 35 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 4 | Austria Klagenfurt | 22 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 29 | 27 | +2 | 34 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 5 | Hartberg | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 33 | 28 | +5 | 34 | Qualification for the Championship round |
* 1 2 Head to head points: Klagenfurt 4, TSV Hartberg 1.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | STU | RBS | LIN | RWI | HAR | AKL |
| 1 | Sturm Graz (C) | 32 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 56 | 23 | +33 | 44 | Qualification for the Champions League league stage | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Red Bull Salzburg | 32 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 74 | 29 | +45 | 42 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round | 2–2 | — | 7–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 4–2 |
| 3 | LASK | 32 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 43 | 33 | +10 | 34 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round | 2–2 | 3–1 | — | 5–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 |
| 4 | Rapid Wien | 32 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 47 | 35 | +12 | 28 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 0–3 | 1–1 |
| 5 | Hartberg | 32 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 28 | Qualification for the Conference League play-offs | 1–3 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — | 3–2 |
* ↑ Since the Europa League winners, Atalanta qualified for the Champions League via league position, Red Bull Salzburg were promoted from the Champions League second qualifying round to the third qualifying round as one of the two teams with the highest coefficient in the second qualifying round.
* ↑ The 2023–24 Austrian Cup winners qualified for the Europa League play-off round. Since the cup winners (Sturm Graz) qualified based on league position, the Europa League spot was passed to the third-placed team.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | WOL | AWI | BWL | ALT | WAT | LUS |
| 1 | Wolfsberger AC | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 41 | 39 | +2 | 31 | Qualification for the Conference League play-offs | — | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| 2 | Austria Wien (O) | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 29 | Qualification for the Conference League play-offs | 0–4 | — | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| 3 | Blau-Weiß Linz | 32 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 33 | 48 | −15 | 22 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 |
| 4 | Rheindorf Altach | 32 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 27 | 40 | −13 | 21 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| 5 | WSG Tirol | 32 | 7 | 5 | 20 | 29 | 55 | −26 | 19 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 |
| 6 | Austria Lustenau (R) | 32 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 22 | 58 | −36 | 16 | Relegation to Austrian Football Second League | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Austrian Football Bundesliga

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | W | D | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | W | L | L | W | W | D | W | D | D | W | W | D |
| Position | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |

#### Matches

The league fixtures were unveiled on 27 June 2023.

#### Championship round

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sturm Graz (C) | 32 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 56 | 23 | +33 | 44 | Qualification for the Champions League league stage |
| 2 | Red Bull Salzburg | 32 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 74 | 29 | +45 | 42 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 3 | LASK | 32 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 43 | 33 | +10 | 34 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round |
| 4 | Rapid Wien | 32 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 47 | 35 | +12 | 28 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Hartberg | 32 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 28 | Qualification for the Conference League play-offs |
* ↑ Since the Europa League winners, Atalanta qualified for the Champions League via league position, Red Bull Salzburg were promoted from the Champions League second qualifying round to the third qualifying round as one of the two teams with the highest coefficient in the second qualifying round.
* ↑ The 2023–24 Austrian Cup winners qualified for the Europa League play-off round. Since the cup winners (Sturm Graz) qualified based on league position, the Europa League spot was passed to the third-placed team.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Austrian Football Bundesliga

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | W | W | W | W | D | D | D | W |
| Position | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

#### Matches
### Austrian Cup

The draw for the season's first round took place on 25 June.

### UEFA Europa League
#### Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 1 September 2023.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ATA | SCP | STU | RAK |
| 1 | Atalanta | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 14 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Sporting CP | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 11 | Advance to knockout round play-offs | 1–2 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Sturm Graz | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 4 | Transfer to Europa Conference League | 2–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 |
| 4 | Raków Częstochowa | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 4 | | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — |
* 1 2 Tied on head-to-head results. Overall goal difference used as a tiebreaker.

### UEFA Europa Conference League
#### Knockout phase
##### Knockout round play-offs

The draw for the knockout round play-offs was held on 18 December 2023.

##### Round of 16
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 19 May 2024
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Bundesliga | Bundesliga | Austrian Cup | Austrian Cup | Europe | Europe |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | NED | Kjell Scherpen | 27 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 16 | GK | CZE | Vítězslav Jaroš | 21 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 31 | GK | AUT | Luka Marić | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | SCO | Max Johnston | 29 | 0 | 2+18 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2+5 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | SUI | Gregory Wüthrich | 42 | 4 | 28 | 3 | 3+1 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | AUT | Aleksandar Borković | 4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | BIH | Jusuf Gazibegović | 47 | 2 | 30+1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | BEL | Dimitri Lavalée | 34 | 2 | 22 | 2 | 3+1 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | AUT | David Schnegg | 38 | 1 | 20+8 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | AUT | Niklas Geyrhofer | 15 | 1 | 4+8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 42 | DF | AUT | David Affengruber | 45 | 3 | 24+4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 11+1 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | MLI | Amadou Danté | 19 | 0 | 5+6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | SVN | Jon Gorenc Stanković | 44 | 6 | 28 | 3 | 3+1 | 1 | 12 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | AUT | Alexander Prass | 47 | 9 | 30 | 7 | 5+1 | 1 | 10+1 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | GEO | Otar Kiteishvili | 40 | 11 | 24+1 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 10+1 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | AUT | Manprit Sarkaria | 28 | 4 | 14+2 | 4 | 2+1 | 0 | 7+2 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ESP | Javi Serrano | 17 | 0 | 2+6 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | SVN | Tomi Horvat | 45 | 11 | 24+4 | 7 | 5+1 | 4 | 5+6 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | AUT | Stefan Hierländer | 39 | 0 | 6+16 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 6+5 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | POL | Szymon Włodarczyk | 40 | 9 | 12+12 | 5 | 3+1 | 3 | 5+7 | 1 |
| 15 | FW | DEN | William Bøving | 45 | 7 | 17+11 | 2 | 3+2 | 2 | 6+6 | 3 |
| 17 | FW | CPV | Bryan Teixeira | 17 | 1 | 5+5 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 1+4 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | DEN | Mika Biereth | 22 | 9 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| 20 | FW | NOR | Seedy Jatta | 24 | 2 | 5+12 | 2 | 2+2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | GHA | Mohammed Fuseini | 15 | 1 | 0+11 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 |
| 36 | FW | MLI | Amady Camara | 24 | 2 | 2+18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+4 | 1 |
| 38 | FW | AUT | Leon Grgic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Players transferred or loaned out during the season ||||||||||||
| 13 | FW | AUT | Jakob Jantscher | 3 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |