Robert Zulj has been playing in Austria for a year and a half. This season, the 31-year-old leads his team onto the field as captain.

Big honor for Robert Zulj: the former VfL Bochum promotion hero has been named team captain at Austrian Bundesliga club Linzer ASK. Zulj thus succeeds goalkeeper Alexander Schlager, who moved to serial champion RB Salzburg.

LASK coach Thomas Sageder explained the decision as follows: “I think incredibly highly of him. For me, he is one of the best footballers we have in Austria. He’s not a yes-man, but he also gives me a run for my money. I simply trust him, which is why it was clear to me that he would be captain.”

Last Friday, the ex-Bochum man then led his team onto the pitch as captain for the first time this league season. For the season opener, LASK faced Rapid Wien in front of 16,790 fans. For a long time it looked like a 0:1 home defeat, but then Felix Luckeneder scored the equalizer with the last action in the game (95th minute) and secured the Sageder eleven at least a draw to start.

In the next game, however, the performance must improve. Zulj and Co. will travel to reigning runners-up Sturm Graz on Saturday (August 5, 7:30 p.m.). Robert Zulj has been under contract again in his home country Austria since July 2022. The 31-year-old was directly involved in 17 goals (12 goals, 5 assists) in 31 games during this period and is the difference maker in LASK’s attacking midfield. The reward: his contract was extended early until 2027.

For VfL Bochum, on the other hand, the 1.89-meter man played from January 2020 to June 2021. He was one of the central figures in VfL’s promotion team in the 2020/2021 season. With 29 goal contributions in 31 games, he shone in Bochum’s second league championship. In total, the promotion hero made 45 appearances at Castroper Straße, scoring 17 goals and directly preparing 20 goals.