"Not ready yet"

Rapid: Katzer finally puts an end to speculation!

Rapid sporting director Markus Katzer(Bild: GEPA)

Rapid's sporting director Markus Katzer finally puts an end to the speculation and ends the flirtation with Red Bull Salzburg. And he leaves a door open for interim coach Stefan Kulovits.

"I've been associated with Rapid since childhood. I have made the decisions for myself. I'm not finished here yet. That also applies to the spring." The final sentence had been missing until now. But now Markus Katzer has finally put an end to the speculation and ruled out a move to Salzburg once and for all.

Rapids' sporting director is not taking the lucrative "flight". Whether the Bulls turned him down - or he turned down the "can company" - remains to be seen, but it is a tiny building block to ensure something like calm in Hütteldorf ...

However, Katzer did not want to close one door, the one for Stefan Kulovits: "I can't look into the crystal ball." In the search for a new head coach, the interim coach will not be taken out of the running prematurely. The 42-year-old has four games left to recommend himself as a permanent solution before the winter break. Kulovits wants to seize the opportunity: "If the results are right, I haven't heard any major arguments against me." But Katzer is under no stress.

Rapid interim coach Stefan Kulovits(Bild: APA/EXPA)

The decision should be made by the start of training at the beginning of January. "We are sounding out the entire market and are open to everything," says Kulovits, who wants to draw on the experience gained during the Klauß and Stöger eras. "We have a clear profile. The coach is one of the most important personnel matters in a club." The priority for him now is to allow Kulovits to work as freely as possible. "We still have every opportunity this season."

Virtues on the pitch
Because the league is tight and all the supposed big names are weakening. Tomorrow, Rapid want to take the first step out of the crisis against Ried. Kulovits also used the training week to form a unit from the different individualists - with team building. "We went bowling and then to an escape room," says Kulovits. "We want the players to connect with each other." The aim was to escape without cell phones. The small groups were mixed. "Everyone had to get involved," says Kulovits. "These are the virtues we want to see on the pitch." Recently in vain at Rapid.