LASK was the shocking winners of the Austrian Bundesliga and Cup this previous season and it was American ahead Samuel Adeniran who helped ship the title. ASN spoke with the Houston native on the historic accomplishment
BY
Paul Stephens
Posted
June 03, 2026
9:05 AM
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LAST MONTH, THE 2025/26 Austrian Bundesliga season concluded in gorgeous vogue with LASK being crowed as champion. Because the adoption of the Bundesliga in 1974, Austrian champions have virtually completely come from Vienna, Salzburg, or Graz with an exception being two now-defunct golf equipment from Innsbruck additionally having gained titles. However Linz was clearly the most effective crew in Austria this season because it additionally gained the Austrian Cup to finish the double. It was the membership’s first set of trophies since 1964/65 when it additionally gained the double.
Samuel Adeniran, 27, was one of many greatest causes for LASK’s shocking success this season. The Houston native completed the season with 10 objectives and 5 assists within the Bundesliga and three objectives within the Austrian Cup but it surely was his performances within the remaining weeks and months of the season that had been crucial for the membership.
Within the Austrian Cup semifinal in opposition to Ried, Adeniran scored a second-half equalizer as LASK would go on to win 2-1. Then within the remaining, Adeniran would rating twice in a 4-2 victory over Altach.
Then within the Austrian Bundesliga, Adeniran scored objectives within the membership’s final three video games – all wins – over the three golf equipment straight beneath LASK within the desk, Strum Graz, Salzburg, and Austria Vienna. In the long run, that was the distinction as LASK completed two factors clear over two-time reigning champion Strum Graz.
“I came with the mentality that I wanted to reignite myself and get back to scoring,” Adeniran. “I wanted to achieve more than what I had done previously. As a striker, I want to score as many goals as possible. And not only do I want score, I also want goals that contribute to winning. I don’t want to be that guy who scores 20 goals and his team is in last place. For me, that doesn’t really mean that much. I guess you could get a good contract, but I’ve always been a winner.”
“The Austrian league is actually underrated,” he added. “I think that there’s a lot of good talent that comes out of the Austrian League and I knew that it would be a challenge for myself. I took it as a big opportunity. Fast forward to now, seeing how it came out, I’m very grateful.”
Adeniran is not any stranger to being on profitable groups. He was on the Seattle Sounders once they gained the CONCACAF Champions League, albeit he was restricted together with his enjoying time. On a mortgage to San Antonio FC, Adeniran scored the profitable purpose within the USL Championship title sport. When he was with St. Louis Metropolis for its inaugural MLS season, he had his finest home season when he scored eight objectives in 18 video games throughout 950 minutes. When he was with the Philadelphia Union in 2024, the membership superior to the semifinal of Leagues Cup.
However Adeniran’s success with LASK has been a profession defining second in that he led a membership to a double. Consequently, he can have the chance to compete for place within the Champions League as LASK will enter the competitors within the playoff-round, the ultimate qualification spherical earlier than the league section. Ought to they fail to advance, they are going to be positioned into the Europa League.
Like many on LASK, Adeniran is fast to credit score head coach Dietmar Kühbauer for his success in the direction of the tip of the season. Previous to the 2025/26 season, LASK had been in a interval of instability with 4 coaches having led the membership over the earlier 12 months. The previous Austrian worldwide took over the job in midseason when the membership was in tenth place out of 12. After 14 video games in change, Kühbauer had the crew in third place. Then after profitable the Austrian Cup, Kühbauer’s crew continued its push over the ultimate three video games to win the title.
“The confidence that I got from the coach, having a coach that believes in you, having a coach that pushes you and gives you opportunities is very important for me,” Adeniran stated of Kühbauer. “I’m the type of player where if I’m playing, and I’m in a rhythm, then I’m able to play well. But if it’s the situation where I’m in the lineup one game and then I’m out the next game, it’s difficult for a striker. in my opinion to keep that rhythm. Once we got towards the end of the season and once the light started to shine brighter, I took it upon myself to say we can win it all.”
Adeniran was not the one American participant to function for LASK this season. Left again George Bello was one the crew’s most sturdy gamers, enjoying practically each minute of the season. Previous to arriving in Austria, Adeniran and Bello had by no means met however the two turned shut partly due to their related backgrounds of being raised in the US, having Nigerian mother and father, and having performed in MLS earlier of their careers.
Whereas Bello has featured for the U.S. nationwide crew up to now, with a spotlight coming in 2021 when he began within the Gold Cup remaining win over Mexico, he has not been with the crew in 4 years. Adeniran has by no means performed for the US at any stage, and he hopes now after having led LASK to the title and with the Champions League in sight, there’s a pathway there for him to make it, with Nigeria additionally being an choice.
“I’ve always thought that I want to represent my country, whichever it is,” Adeniran defined. “I can represent Nigeria or America. Me being born in America and growing up in America, I would definitely say I’m closer to my American roots in the sense of I was born there, I grew up there, and obviously it would be an honor to represent the country. It’s always been something that I’ve had in my mind. I’ve never been called up before, but you never know what can happen when you put your best foot forward. I feel like that’s what I did.”
Like many gamers, Adeniran’s inspiration stemmed from inside his household. His father, Adebisi Adeniran (who beforehand glided by Victor Ogunsanya) was a former participant in Nigeria. When he moved to the US, he performed for a number of groups with a spotlight coming in 1991 when he gained the U.S. Open Cup with the Brooklyn Italians and began within the remaining in opposition to the Richardson Rockets.
As of late, Adebisi lives in Houston however nonetheless operates a soccer academy again in Nigeria. He has lengthy been a instructor of the sport together with his first college students being his personal kids. For Samuel, the youngest youngster, that’s how his love for the sport started.
“He was my biggest motivation to play,” Adeniran stated. “He never forced us to play. Well, he did tell us that he wanted us to play. When we did, he was gonna push us, but it was all out of love. It was what made me into the player I wanted to be. He never let me quit. I have memories of us waking up 4am to work out before school… Seeing all of that, growing up, just seeing my dad’s love for soccer really instilled that love in me.”
It has been a wild journey for Adeniran over the previous yr and he has set himself up for a probably even larger season forward. However based mostly on his previous, from childhood by MLS, USL, and now Europe, he’s very assured for the longer term.
“There’s a quote from me in November saying I think that we could be top three or even win the league,” Adeniran stated. “Everyone looked at me like I was crazy saying that the last time we won anything was 61 years ago. What makes this kid think that he’s just going to come from America and all of a sudden just start winning? Lo and behold we end up winning the double. You have to have that confidence. You have to speak that into existence. I didn’t come to Austria just to sightsee. I didn’t come here to just see the mountains. I came here to play football. I came to win. For me to be able to achieve what we achieved in this season and having this be my first full season in a first division league in Europe, and to win two trophies, that’s a big blessing.”
“The fans are just really happy, and a lot of people were saying to me that they’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” he added. “It just felt good to be able to do it for them.”
