Martin Moormann desperate for Euro adventure with Motherwell
· Scott Burns · 2026-08-13T06:08:06+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Martin Moormann desperate for Euro adventure with Motherwell after Jarrod Bowen tussle
The Austrian previously took on the likes of Genk and West Ham United when he was at Rapid Vienna.
Martin Moormann has had a Rapid introduction to big European names and games.
The defender came through the ranks at Rapid Vienna and got early exposure against Dinamo Zagreb, West Ham United and Genk.
It saw him come up against the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Andriy Yarmolenko back in the 2021-22 season.
That experience means he will be unfazed going into Motherwell’s latest Conference League adventure against HJK.
Moormann said: "It was a great experience.
“I was in the second team at this moment and everything went very quickly.
“Within one week I made my debut for the first team, in the Austrian Cup, and also for Europa League.
“So in the end, after a few years, you were able to recognise what happened in this week.
“But yeah, great experience and I think it also helps to maybe guide also the team a little bit, to help a few players who maybe were not able to get in touch with European games.
“It (West Ham) was a great game, but it was during coronavirus, so the fans weren’t able to get into the stadium to make it even more special. “It was a great game.
“I was up against him. A few years ago I played a lot of games at left-back against the likes of Bowen and Yarmolenko. It was a great opportunity to play against some top players.
“But as I said, it's already a long time ago. I was a lot younger and I think it was a great experience."
The West Ham game had even more of an edge due to his leanings towards rivals Spurs, who lifted the Europa League under Ange Postecoglou last year.
He explained: “I am a big Tottenham fan. My brother was a big fan and then I became a fan.
“We went to the stadium a couple of years ago. I was pleased when Tottenham Hotspur won’t the Europa League a couple of seasons ago.”
Moormann marked his own ‘Well Euro debut in style with a screamer in the wins over Havnar Boltfelag and then last week helped them to get a 1-1 draw away to HJK.
He joked it is a trademark goal. He explained: "Yes, great. I think it's always,
“I don't want to say difficult, but it's different when you come to a new club, when you have your first game.
“Of course, you're a little bit nervous, maybe too.
“Helped a lot to score after 15 minutes or something like that, to get a good feeling on the pitch. Makes it easier.
“I think it was in March (my last goal) or something like that.
“Yes, it was a similar one, outside of the box.
“It was good luck in this game and hopefully there will come a few more this season."
The winners will take on Freiburg in the play-off. Moormann knows it is massive but all focus has to be on HJK.
He warned: “It is a great opportunity (Freiburg) but we need to focus on the game tomorrow.”
Motherwell went ahead through Tawanda Maswanhise against HJK but were pegged back by Teemu Pukki’s equaliser. Moormann reckons it will be a different grass at Fir Park.
The 25-year-old insisted: “When you play on astro it's maybe a little bit different. But I think the fans, the crowd who will be here, it will help us a lot. They'll give us maybe an extra push.
“Hopefully, they'll give us an extra push. But I think home games are always, especially international, are different. Maybe a little bit easier.
“We know that it was a hard game last week, so we need to be completely focused on the game."
He joined from Blue and White Linz. Moormann always wanted to a club outside of his homeland. He admitted the playing style of Alfred Johansson was a big thing.
The former Austrian under-21 cap said: “I think it was clear that the club, and also the manager, doesn't want to change very much the style they played last year.
“That was very important for me because I wanted to go to a club where we want to play football, where we want to have a lot of possession.
“The first days were very positive. He spoke a lot to the new players and we tried to get them involved as soon as possible. I think it helped a lot too."