Gernot Trauner likes life in the Netherlands. The 29-year-old defender transferred from LASK to Feyenoord in the summer and has not missed a minute in official games for his new club since then. Trauner enjoys the ambiance during matches in the Eredivisie and looks back mainly positively on Feyenoord’s start to the season. After ten matches, Arne Slot’s team is in fourth place, with only one loss point less than leader Ajax.
His employment at Feyenoord is Trauner’s first adventure outside his native country. “In Austria you are left alone, there are fewer people so obsessed with football,” says the mandekker, who came over for at least a million euros, in conversation with SPOX and Goal. “Football is by far the biggest sport in the Netherlands. The atmosphere is always good and the stadiums are well filled. I can only recommend everyone to attend a match in the Netherlands.”
Although he has only been playing for Feyenoord for a few months, Trauner can no longer walk anonymously on the street in Rotterdam. “I am constantly recognized in public and people approach me. I noticed this especially when I had just arrived in the Netherlands and stayed in a hotel in the center of Rotterdam,” Trauner recalls. “Everyone has been very friendly, but of course you don’t always want such rapprochements, so it was nice to eventually live a bit outside the center.”
Feyenoord is so far ‘well on its way’, according to the Austrian. He believes that Feyenoord should continue to participate in the upper echelons of the Eredivisie. “We’re in the top four teams in the league and that’s where we want to finish. We’ve changed our playing style from last season. A lot of things are going well, but we can and should get better. We’ve spilled points against smaller clubs. That’s painful if you want to finish high. But we have a lot of potential.” Feyenoord dropped points this season against FC Utrecht (3-1), Vitesse (2-1) and RKC Waalwijk (2-2).
The top match against PSV was won 0-4 in September. Trauner will not soon forget that match. “That was very special. We were not the favorite, but the slight underdog,” said the summer addition. “We played a perfect game, although the difference was not as big as you might suspect based on the result. We were effective and let nothing in the back. Together with the game against Union Berlin, with the fantastic atmosphere in De Kuip, it was It’s my big highlight at Feyenoord.”