EVERYONE'S A WIMMER!

Billy Shaw chats to likeable former LASK and Spurs defender Kevin Wimmer as his former clubs prepare to do battle…

- Billy Shaw

If we could welcome supporters into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tonight, Kevin Wimmer and his family would be the first ones through the turnstiles.

A popular member of our squad between 2015 and 2017, the reliable Austrian international defender holds both of this evening’s teams close to his heart, having come up through the ranks at LASK and made his senior breakthrough there as an 18-year-old during 2011/12, before featuring 31 times in our colours, with three years at 1. FC Köln in Germany sandwiched in between.

Aided by the fact that his father Wolfgang served as first-team goalkeeping coach at LASK during his time there – and continued to do so right up until 2018/19 – Kevin recalls making the 30-minute journey from his family home in Wels with his dad to training in Linz, while at the same time juggling his A-level studies at nearby Borg School…

What do you remember about your early days at LASK?

“I took my first professional steps there – it was very close to where my parents lived so I had a good connection with the club. I was in the youth teams for eight years and I played one season in the first team in 2011/12 before I moved to Köln.