"Talking up a storm": our brush-up sesh on Sturm Graz
Get up-to-speed on our League Phase MD7 opponents
With the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League making its return on Tuesday 21 January with the League Phase MD7, Atalanta will play host to Austrian champions Sturm Graz for the Gewiss Stadium clash kicking off at 18:45 CET. This will be the third official meeting between the two teams in European competitions after their previous Group Phase encounters in the 2023-2024 UEFA Europa League, namely a 2-2 in Austria and then a 1-0 home win at the Gewiss Stadium in the return fixture.
A football club with a rich history dating back over a century, Sportklub Sturm Graz was founded on May 1 1909 in Graz. Currently competing in the Austrian top-flight, namely the Bundesliga, the Styria-based outfit can flaunt an impressive trophy haul having lifted: 4 Austrian championships, 7 Domestic Cups and 3 National Supercups.
The team is currently managed by Jürgen Säumel, a former Sturm Graz midfielder who has also donned the shirts of Torino and Brescia in his playing days. After completing the transition to the sidelines, he has taken on the role of head coach at his former club at the start of the current season.
While domestically speaking Säumel's team sits at the top of the Bundesliga table with 36 points after 16 games, Die Schwoazn have claimed 3 points in their Champions League run.