CITY fans making the trip to Austria might remember SV Ried II from last year but what about late replacements SK Vorwärts Steyr?
Here is a bit of background about the team that have stepped in to provide the opposition for today’s friendly as the Bantams sign off their Alpine training camp.
Vorwärts have had recent experience of English opposition in pre-season, losing 2-1 to QPR in 2023.
But one of the oldest clubs in upper Austria have had a tough time of late with two relegations in three seasons to drop into the fourth tier.
Vorwärts enjoyed their best years at the start of the 1990s when they finished seventh in the Austrian top flight. Like City, they have featured in the Intertoto Cup, with a 2-1 away win over Eintracht Frankfurt the highlight of their 1995 run.
But they were heavily losing money and were declared bankrupt four years later, reforming the club in the lower leagues in 2001.
Vorwärts made it back to the Austrian second tier in 2018 and stayed there for five seasons before relegation in 2023.
And last season they finished second bottom in the regional league (middle) to slip back to the fourth level.
The game, which kicks off at 6.30pm English time, takes place at USC Abersee – the home town of Bayern Munich’s Austrian international Konrad Laimer.
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