A Clear Statement

Is Rangnick to Blame for Schöttel’s Departure? “Nonsense!”

Head Coach Ralf Rangnick and Peter Schöttel(Bild: Krone-Collage/APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER, Mario Urbantschitsch)

ÖFB Supervisory Board Chairman Josef Pröll wants to wrap up the search for the soccer association’s new sporting director before the end of the year. As the Lower Austrian announced on Monday, the two managing directors, Thomas Hollerer and Bernhard Neuhold, are currently drawing up a job description. Pröll left open the question of who might succeed Peter Schöttel—while national team coach Ralf Rangnick, however, denied any responsibility for Schöttel’s departure …

In any case, Pröll said that in the coming weeks, they aim to find someone who is “convincing on a personal, professional, and human level and who, at the intersection of grassroots soccer, the Bundesliga, and the national teams, will proactively and dynamically fulfill an important pivotal role in Austrian soccer.” The association president also remarked: “I don’t believe in networks or other such things, or in people calling out who they think deserves the job. We need the right profile and the best person,” explained the 58-year-old, without addressing speculation.

The appointment will be decided by a working group that includes, in addition to Pröll, Hollerer, and Neuhold, the two deputy chairmen of the supervisory board, Johannes Wutzlhofer and Philip Thonhauser. An external headhunter may be brought in. The job profile should be designed to be “rather open,” according to Pröll. The focus will therefore be on personality, knowledge of Austria (Pröll: “Without limiting it to a specific nationality”), a drive to innovate, the ability to bring people together, and strengths in management.

Position Will Not Be Advertised
According to Pröll, the jobwillnot be advertised. “We will reach out to a few people who are of interest to us, and we won’t object if someone approaches us.” Head coach Ralf Rangnick is also to be involved in the decision-making process. “We’d be out of our minds if we didn’t listen to his extensive sports expertise,” Pröll said.

Rangnick emphasized that he had not been involved in the decision to part ways with Schöttel. “I worked well with Peter in a spirit of trust.” The theory that he and Schöttel did not get along is “nonsense,” Rangnick assured. Pröll praised Schöttel for his “empathetic approach toward ÖFB staff members.” However, he said, they had come to the conclusion that the association needed “new momentum.”