Fabian Rieder’s first Augsburg impressions: “We need to be bigger a**holes.” | OneFootball

Thanks to an Augsburg deadline day coup, Fabian Rieder is back in the Bundesliga. The feisty former VfB Stuttgart loanee – once famously referred to by VfB teammate Ermedin Demirovic as an “ankle-biting attack dog” – is already bringing his famous feistiness to his new German club. Rieder started and scored in his Augsburg debut. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as hosting St. Pauli scored two unanswered en-route to a 2-1 home victory.

“I prepared and did a lot of video analysis,” Rieder – as quoted by Kicker – said of his blitz Bundesliga start. “We had the ambition and quality to win the game. We didn’t push forward enough and took too long to look for the finish. Naturally, we’re disappointed. We need to be more efficient both offensively and defensively. If I may say so, I think we need to be bigger assholes.”

Rieder nevertheless did emphasize that he remained very excited to be working in Germany’s Fuggerstadt. New FCA head coach Sandro Wagner intensively courted Rieder for weeks. The 23-year-old made it clear that Wagner had convinced him to move permanently from Stade Rennes. The 21-times-capped Swiss international already feels quite at home in Wagner’s system.

“I fit in perfectly with his [Wagner’s] style-of-play,” Rieder also noted. “I go into every duel aggressively, run a lot, and cover a lot of ground. But I can also hit the gaps or work down deep. I’m fully convinced that we’ll have a great season.”

GGFN | Peter Weis