Alarm for Morning Grouches

Early kickoff causes headaches for the team

Austria’s head coach Ralf Rangnick—an ÖFB nutrition and sleep expert—has devised a perfect plan for the team.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

“The last time they played this early was probably in the U15s,” speculates Austria’s head coach Ralf Rangnick. His team faces Argentina in Dallas on Monday at 12 p.m. local time. The early kickoff time completely turns the red-white-red team’s day upside down—a sleep expert steps in to help. 

“When I get up in the morning, my wife and kids aren’t allowed to talk to me—that’s an absolute no-no,” says Marko Arnautovic, who counts himself among the most hopeless morning grouches. But today, even Austria’s all-time record holder for appearances will have set his alarm for 6 a.m.: “Then I’ll be fine until noon.” A problem that young fathers like Lienhart, Posch, Friedl, and the rest don’t have—they’re in the U.S., where they’re used to always being the first ones at the flexible-hour breakfast (between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m.).

Family man Marko Arnautovic (left) prefers a quiet morning.(Bild: GEPA)

D-Day has been the topic of conversation for weeks 
It all sounds funny, trivial—but Monday has been giving the ÖFB a headache for weeks. Not because of Argentina. Because of the time. “The last time they played this early was probably in the U15s,” team manager Ralf Rangnick also suspects. That’s because kickoff is at 12 p.m. local time today. “That’s 10 a.m. if we stay in our time zone,” says Martin Rinderer, referring to the “lost” two hours compared to Santa Barbara, our World Cup base camp.

ÖFB Has Its Own Sleep Expert 
Martin Rinderer is the ÖFB’s nutrition and sleep expert; he worked out the schedule with sports scientist Gerhard Zallinger to ensure that the players’ circadian rhythms—their internal clocks—are perfectly synchronized. To this end, all data—ranging from sleep and subjective well-being to CK levels, stress metrics, and performance metrics—has been collected for weeks.

The time adjustment was made gradually: Training sessions have been progressively moved up over the last few days, even as early as 9:30 a.m.—essentially simulating match day.

Normally, the pre-match snack should be eaten three and a half to four hours before kickoff. That’s not possible.

Martin Rinderer, Ernährungs- und Schlafexperte des ÖFB

An even more substantial breakfast 
“Normally, the pre-match snack should be eaten three and a half to four hours before kickoff,” explains Rinderer. That’s not possible on Monday. At 6 a.m., the wake-up call sounds, and the team gets their first wake-up call: “Exercise and daylight boost the metabolism even before eating,” says Rinderer.

After breakfast—which is even more substantial this time—there’s a team meeting, followed by a second “energy boost” before heading to the stadium.

Martin Rinderer (right) is the ÖFB’s nutrition and sleep expert.(Bild: GEPA)

And then it’s high noon—when they face Messi and Co., everyone will be wide awake anyway. That’s when the adrenaline kicks in. But maybe there are a few morning grouches among the Gauchos...