Glasner on Austria training camp; four matches; and Wembley again...

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1 Aug 2025

Oliver Glasner is looking forward to Crystal Palace's return to Wembley next weekend for the FA Community Shield – having taken plenty from the Eagles' pre-season training camp in Austria this week.

The Eagles are concluding their week-long training camp in Windischgarstenustria with two final matches against FC Augsburg (both 90 minutes) this Friday, 1st August (kick-offs at 15:00 and 17:00) – both LIVE on Palace TV+.

Earlier this week, we twice faced FSV Mainz 05 in a pair of 60-minute matches in Austria, as distinct teams drew 1-1 and then fell to a 3-2 defeat.

Ahead of our matches against Augsburg, the Manager sat down with Palace TV to discuss the club's pre-season preparations thus far; how the players have enjoyed their time in Austria; and what a return to Wembley next weekend, to face Liverpool in the FA Community Shield, will mean to him and his players...

On being back in Austria…

I always enjoy coming back to Austria – especially now. The last two days the weather is fine, but on the other side, the weather is perfect for training: it was not too hot, but also it was not really raining heavily, so we’ve had very good conditions.

This was one of the main reasons why we picked Austria, because we know here we have great conditions, it's a fantastic pitch next to the hotel, with great teams to play against, and this was the reason.

Now we're enjoying the pre-season and looking forward to the start of the season.

All of my backroom staff played in the Bundesliga and for the Austrian national team, like Ronny Brunmayr and Emmanuel Pogatetz. Many people are visiting us, watching the training sessions, of course, having a small chat, and it's always good to see former teammates. It’s just nice here.

That's why we said ‘okay, let's stay somewhere in Europe’, also where we can play against very strong teams. We could see Mainz, who qualified for the Conference League, were a very good team and we're expecting the same from Augsburg, so we can have more or less everything on the same level, maybe on a better level with shorter [travelling] distances, and that's why we decided to go to Austria.

On the midweek matches against Mainz…

We got great answers and this is what we hoped to get. We could see that we have to work on the balance in the game, because we played well especially in the first 60 minutes – we created good chances, we scored a goal – but we gave them too many chances.

We were very vulnerable in transition and therefore we need to have a better balance and also know in which areas we can take risks, and where it's important not to lose the ball.

The second team was different. We struggled a little bit because we never trained together and also we had very intense sessions the two days before, so the legs and the mind was not on the top level, but what I really liked is when you are 3-0 down in a pre-season game, legs are tired, mind is tired, you could give up – but players came back to 2-3 and I liked the mindset, I liked the mentality.

Of course we could see that we have still enough things to work on, so that was a very good test against a very good side of Mainz.

On facing Augsburg…

German Bundesliga teams are always very physical, very intense, running a lot and sprinting a lot. They’re not so much on keeping possession – they go quick in behind and we have to be ready for this, and this will be the same against Augsburg.

We reduced the training, the intensity of the training, the duration of the training in the last two days to have fresh legs, because most of the players will play 90 minutes, and therefore we can't risk any injuries and we want the players at the top level for preparing for the Community Shield.

On looking back on last season as a whole…

It was a tough start and it showed that when you stick together, when you stay together, when you support each other and you’re never losing your belief and never losing your work ethic, that you can achieve big goals even when you're struggling in parts of the season.

Of course it was a great ending, lifting the first trophy for Crystal Palace, playing two games at Wembley with almost 40,000 Palace fans there, and then even the end with the parade at Selhurst, and seeing all these happy faces, and everybody was enjoying this time… it was really a great season.

But it's always when you think things keep going on their own, you have to learn a hard lesson: it's always you have to prove yourself, you have to improve, you have to work hard to get to the same level again, but we want to be better than last season, therefore we have to invest, we have to work hard.

But also big credit to the lads, they're really doing well in training, very ambitious, great spirit again, and so yeah I think we are on track.

On the Community Shield at Wembley…

When you have the chance to win silverware, then go for it – and we will go for it.

We’re facing the [league] champions and we’re facing a team really buying big players, high-quality players, but yes it's a great challenge and we're looking forward to the game, Wembley again.

We have great memories of Wembley and we’re looking forward to it. We will be ready and I think it's the same with Liverpool. I don't expect they will be in the best possible shape but it’s the same with us at the beginning of the season, and we will go for winning the next trophy.

If you have the chance to win two trophies within three months, let's go for it!

On the start of a fresh season…

I love my job. Being together with the players, with my staff, and also now working on the details, analysing the games with our analysts and what we can improve and creating the spirit again… it's not just on the pitch, it's also off the pitch, therefore a training camp is good with many hours being together.

This is what I really was looking for after a few weeks at home. Of course I think at least every second day I had a call with the Chairman or with some other guys working for the club, working on transfers, having a few Zoom calls, so you’re never off from football!

But just being at home, spending time with my family, spending time with my friends, my battery is really recharged, and now we have a great environment, the players are doing well again.

This year, we’ve started on a complete different level and this is what we hope we can show from the beginning.

On the team trying Austrian food at the hotel…

When I came to England, I also tried English food, and I think if you come to Austria, let's try Austrian food. If you go to Italy, I think we’ll all try Italian pizza!

It's just giving you new experiences, and I think most of them like the Austrian desserts! I think we are really famous for desserts, and it’s also part of enjoying: it's good food and you're in a good mood, and this is what we want to have, because this is fundamental to performing at your best level, that you feel well in your environment, where you are, and then you can improve on the pitch.

This is what we try to create: an environment where everybody feels well, but also with a great work ethic to improve.

Match details

FC Augsburg v Crystal Palace

Friday, 1st August
15:00 & 17:00 BST (2 x 90-minute matches)
HF-Stadion Bad Wimsbach
Live on Palace TV+

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