Rapid after cup defeat

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Markus Katzer after losing the Cup final.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Rapid are licking their wounds after their Cup dream fell through!The gap to the top two is now even bigger. Sporting director Markus Katzer says: "We will continue on our path."

Without the cup. No fans waiting in Vienna. The mood in the cellar - the bus ride back from Klagenfurt was a long ordeal for Rapid. Yesterday the physical wounds were licked, but the mental frustration after the 1:2 against Sturm, the shattered Cup title dream, is hard to cope with.

"Terrible"
Coach Robert Klauß's initial reaction when he saw Biereth's foul on Querfeld before the 2-1 draw on TV, which was not penalized, also showed this: "Every decision was terrible, that was the icing on the cake." Humanly understandable, the German's emotions also got the better of him with his criticism of referee Gishamer. Up until the Cup final, the 39-year-old had still been able to calmly moderate all the "flashpoints" in Hütteldorf. Not anymore, too much was at stake and was lost. No entry in the history books with the first title since 2008. No permanent place in Europe. No guaranteed millions. And therefore no planning security. And now?

Robert Klauß grumbled about the referee's decision at 2:1.(Bild: GEPA)

"We'll carry on," says sporting director Markus Katzer, quickly shaking off the frustration. His only criticism of Gishamer in the fatal scene for Rapid: "Why doesn't he watch it on the screen?" He was let down by the VAR. And yet, despite the disappointment, Katzer took the positives with him: "That was no comparison to the last Cup final, now on an equal footing. But you have to congratulate Sturm, they are doing a good job and are three years ahead of us. I've been there for 16 months, the coach for six months. We've taken a step, we're only at the beginning, our transformation continues."

With Cvetkovic, Grgic, Seidl and Co., Rapid has gained in quality and mentality, but Salzburg, Sturm and LASK can add from the bench, Rapid is not good enough. "Our squad is thin," says Katzer. "What we've invested in the squad, Sturm have invested in one player. We have to face the reality that other clubs have more resources at their disposal."

Markus Katzer(Bild: GEPA)

Still only small steps
And now the gap to the top duo could get even bigger: Salzburg is light years away anyway, and can plan with around €50 million from the Club World Cup. And Sturm can look forward to the Champions League. Which doesn't make Katzer despair: "Our direction is right. We have a clear plan. Financial resources only accelerate the process."

Rapid can therefore continue to take only very small steps, but at least the door to the Europa or Conference League via the league remains open (see right). That will be hard enough now. Salzburg are coming on Sunday - Katzer: "We fell down, that hurts. But we'll get up again."