Oliver Glasner is the first Austrian coach ever to win the FA Cup. And in doing so, he has secured himself a place in the annals of Crystal Palace.
Oliver Glasner wrote himself into the history books at Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Austrian led the south London club to their first ever title with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the final at the venerable Wembley Stadium. “I can’t believe it, we had to defend for so long. We had to remain patient and wait for the right moment,” the 50-year-old was quoted by the APA as saying after the lucky victory against the Citizens.
Glasner identified the ‘team spirit’ within the squad as the decisive factor in winning the title: ”We had a great mentality.” Palace could also rely on goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who saved a penalty from former Frankfurt player Omar Marmoush in the first half. The 28-year-old had previously been lucky not to be sent off for a supposed handball outside the penalty area.
Special praise from Parish
“In some situations, you need luck on your side. We had that today. But you also have to earn it. The players invest so much every single day and in every game. This is the reward for that,” Glasner commented on the controversial scene in an interview with beIN Sports. “Today was Crystal Palace’s day!”
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish explained that Glasner was largely responsible for the Eagles winning their first title in the club’s history: “I believed we could win. Oliver made that happen. He made us believe.” The south London club had already reached the FA Cup final in 1990 and 2016, but on both occasions Manchester United proved too strong.
Glasner praises Palace’s patience
For Glasner, it was his second title win outside Austria after Eintracht Frankfurt’s Europa League triumph in the 2021/22 season. Although “difficult to compare,” the 50-year-old saw parallels between the two surprise triumphs: “You can see what you can achieve when you are patient as a club.” In this context, the Austrian also praised the Palace fans, who had remained loyal to him and his team after a weak start to the season. Glasner and Co. did not secure their first Premier League win until the ninth matchday.
Glasner therefore dedicated the FA Cup title to the fans and his team. “A big thank you to the players, they never lost faith in me and the coaching staff,” said the Austrian, whose team will continue their campaign on Tuesday (9 p.m.) with a home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers. ‘The celebrations will last a few hours. I would prefer a few days, but we have to play on Tuesday. We’ll see how it goes.’
