It's over

It’s official! Schöttel and the ÖFB are parting ways

The now former ÖFB sports director, Peter Schöttel(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

It’s now official: The Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) and sporting director Peter Schöttel are parting ways! The “Krone” had already reported yesterday on the impending “split,” and today it was officially finalized during a supervisory board meeting at the ÖFB campus in Vienna …

According to the ÖFB, the end of the collaboration is “based on differing views regarding the future strategic direction and structure of the position.” At the same time, the ÖFB expressly emphasized its appreciation “for the work Peter Schöttel has done over the past nine years, as well as for him as a person.”

“We thank Peter Schöttel!”
“We thank Peter Schöttel for his work over the past years, which was marked by many successes for the ÖFB,” explained ÖFB Supervisory Board Chairman Josef Pröll after the decisive meeting of the association’s governing body. They wished the 59-year-old “all the best and much success” in his future endeavors.

The now former ÖFB sports director himself “acknowledged the decision that was made. At the same time, I would like to thank all employees, especially the Sports Department, for their excellent and collegial cooperation over nine very successful years.”

ÖFB President Josef Pröll and Head Coach Ralf Rangnick(Bild: GEPA)

 Will No Longer Provide World Cup AnalysisSchöttel had still been on site during the World Cup in North America this summer. His report on the tournament—which was scheduled for the meeting agenda and included the team’s elimination in the round of 32 against eventual World Champion Spain (0–3)—was brief; instead, the outgoing sports director once again commented at length on his overall work over the past few years, highlighting his achievements in the process. This did nothing to change his dismissal—the decision was apparently passed with three abstentions but no dissenting votes.

Instead, Rangnick delivered the detailed, roughly one-hour analysis of the World Cup. Regarding the Schöttel matter, the German made no comment during his first participation in a meeting of the association’s highest governing body in over two years. However, the national team coach also left the meeting after his presentation and was therefore no longer present when the decision to part ways with Schöttel was discussed; among other things, the 59-year-old was accused of not contributing enough to the ongoing strategic process.

In general, since Rangnick was appointed ÖFB head coach in the spring of 2022, not all major decisions regarding sports matters had gone through the former national team player’s desk.

Had been in office since 2017
The 59-year-old Schöttel initially joined the ÖFB in August 2017 as U19 head coach, but a few weeks later was promoted to the position of sporting director, succeeding Willi Ruttensteiner. During his tenure, the national team made two appearances at the European Championships and qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.

As for head coach appointments, Schöttel was involved in only two for the senior national team. Before Ralf Rangnick, this had been the case in 2017 with Rangnick’s German compatriot Franco Foda. On the women’s side, Schöttel gave Irene Fuhrmann a chance in 2020, and she led the national team to the European Championship quarterfinals in 2022. She was succeeded in 2024 by Alexander Schriebl, whom the ÖFB most recently replaced in April with the Dane Lars Söndergaard. One of the highlights was the men’s U17 team’s runner-up finish at the World Cup last year in Qatar.

Sebastian Prödl(Bild: Eva Manhart)

Prödl a Possible Successort
 Sebastian Prödl is considered one of Schöttel’s possiblesuccessors. The former national team player was appointed sporting director of the youth national teams at the beginning of 2025—partly at Rangnick’s request for additional staff in this sensitive area.

In this role, the 39-year-old is responsible, among other things, for the association’s handling of players who, due to their heritage, are eligible to play for several different nations. According to the federation, Prödl plans to comment on the next steps regarding the sports director position on Monday (2 p.m.) during a press conference, at which Rangnick will also announce his roster for the upcoming Nations League opener.