"Club has potential"
Rapid brings in 36-year-old Dane as new coach
Just before the end of the old year, Rapid have made a final decision in their search for a new coach. The Bundesliga club announced the appointment of Dane Johannes Hoff Thorup on Tuesday evening. The 36-year-old succeeds the hapless interim coach Stefan Kulovits. Thorup signed a contract until the end of the 2026/27 season with an option for a further season.
"I'm happy that we were able to reach an agreement with Johannes Hoff Thorup," said Managing Director Sport Markus Katzer. "Despite his young age, he has already gained valuable experience at a very high level in Denmark and England. Johannes' understanding of soccer fits in perfectly with our style of play and I'm really looking forward to working with him. We have had intensive and very constructive talks with him in recent weeks and are convinced that we can be successful together," said the 46-year-old Viennese, who added: "In the next few days, we will also finalize the future coaching team for the professional team together."
"Club has great potential"
Rapids' new head coach will be officially unveiled at a press conference on 7 January 2026. But the Dane is already eager for his new role. "When I first heard about SK Rapid's interest, I knew immediately that I wanted to find out more. When I visited the club and spoke to the people in charge, I quickly realized that this could be exactly the right place for me. The club and the team have great potential, and the city of Vienna is also great. I'm really looking forward to starting and working at SK Rapid. Together, we all want to get the club back to where it belongs," says the 36-year-old Dane.
Hoff Thorup was never active as a professional himself
Hoff Thorup, who has never been active as a professional himself, had been the favorite for the position since shortly before Christmas. Most recently, the 49-year-old Swede Henrik Rydström, who would have stood for the more revolutionary soccer approach of relationism (largely no rigid positional play in the offense), was also in the running. Hoff Thorup is also regarded as an offensive-oriented coach - and he is the first Scandinavian at Rapid.
If you exclude three interim coaches, Hoff Thorup is the 16th Rapid head coach since 2000. For the first time since the Croatian Vlatko Markovic at the end of the 1980s, the coach of the Hütteldorfer does not come from Austria or Germany.
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