Changes in the SK Rapid coaching team
Didi Kühbauer and Manfred Nastl were relieved of their coaching duties as of November 10th 2021. Thomas Hickersberger and Steffen Hofmann will lead first team training on an interim basis.
After more than three years, the coaching era of Didi Kühbauer at SK Rapid has come to an end this week. After internal analyses and a number of discussions, the decision was made with a heavy heart by all involved.
The 50-year-old from Burgenland took over as head coach in Hütteldorf at the beginning of October 2018 and was able to lead the team to second place in the league twice in a row, and to the group stages of the UEFA Europa League. In the current Bundesliga season, the record is unfortunately an unsatisfactory one, with only 16 points recorded in the first 14 rounds. Since the 4-1 defeat at Wolfsberger AC last weekend, the goal difference is negative and Green and Whites have been waiting for an away win in the top flight for more than six months. After the performance at the Lavanttal Arena, which all parties agreed was being close to disgraceful, it was already made clear that the situation would be analysed and discussed openly and honestly within the club at the beginning of the international break. This decision is the result of those discussions from recent days.
President Martin Bruckner said: "We would all have preferred to continue working with Didi Kühbauer for a long time, who has made a great contribution to SK Rapid as a coach in the past two seasons. He is and will remain a model Rapid player, but the current situation forces us to assess our priorities. That is why we have decided to relieve Didi Kühbauer and his long-time assistant coach Manfred Nastl of their current duties. This decision was anything but easy for us, but we came to the conclusion that it is a necessary measure to achieve a continuous improvement in the performance of our team once again. I would like to thank Didi Kühbauer in particular, but also Manfred Nastl, for their work over the last three years."
Zoran Barisic, Managing Director of Sport, stated "We have tried everything to manage this season successfully with the existing coaching team, especially Didi Kühbauer. Every separation is painful, because I always keep the person in mind, regardless of whether one has also been personally connected for decades. In my function, however, the welfare of the club is paramount and we have unfortunately arrived at a situation where a change in the position of head coach could no longer be averted. I regret this greatly, and would like to express my thanks and appreciation to Didi and, of course, also to Manfred Nastl for their commitment, both personally and on behalf of SK Rapid. Thomas Hickersberger and Steffen Hofmann will take over the interim management of the training operations of the first team for the time being, and the principle of quality over speed applies to the question of who will become the next head coach. As my job requires, I have a few options in mind, but out of respect for the incumbent coach, I have not wanted to hold any concrete talks so far. Nevertheless, I assume that we will find a solution relatively soon. The top priority is that the successor supports the sporting philosophy and the overall direction of our club, identifies with it and implements it in the future. Of course, our players are also called upon, and I don't want to absolve them of their responsibility. The quality of our squad is comparable to that of the last few seasons, in which we finished second in the league.”
Christoph Peschek, the club’s Managing Director for Business, is also keen to pay respect to the outgoing head coach: "I would like to thank Didi Kühbauer for the cooperation. He has achieved great sporting success and merits as head coach of SK Rapid, but also during the Corona crisis, which was particularly challenging for our club, he showed his great commitment to SK Rapid and always paid attention to the club's situation. Especially at the beginning of the Corona crisis, he also showed his green and white heart from an economic point of view when he agreed without hesitation to a temporary and very drastic voluntary salary waiver. He also never made unrealistic demands from a financial point of view in talks about potential new arrivals and also showed in this context that the long-term well-being of the club, that we all hold equally dear, is of great importance to him. Therefore, I would like to thank him especially for the last 37 months, he is a great Rapid legend, the doors will always be open for him in Hütteldorf, and I wish Didi only the best for his further career as a coach."
Didi Kühbauer has overseen 141 competitive matches since taking charge on October 1st 2018, almost half of which ended in victory (70), the points were shared 25 times, and on 46 occasions the respective opponents got the better of Rapid. In the Bundesliga, the seasons under the Burgenländer ended for Rapid in 7th place (2018/19) and 2nd place (2019/20 and 2020/21), in the ÖFB Cup, the serial winners from Salzburg were twice the final stop for Rapid (2019 in the final, 2020 in the round of 16), in the current season,the Green & Whites are in the quarter-finals after victories over Wiener Viktoria (6-0), Admira (2-1 a.e.t.) and Amstetten (3-0). In terms of European football, Rapid did not qualify in 2019/20, but managed to reach the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in each of the following seasons after being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers (2020 against Gent and 2021 against Sparta Prague) (Group standings: 3rd place in 2020 with 7 points against Arsenal, Molde and Dundalk; 4th place in 2021 after four match days with 3 points against West Ham, Dinamo Zagreb and Genk).
SK Rapid would like to express its gratitude to Didi Kühbauer once again, and emphasise that he will always be a welcome guest in Hütteldorf in the future.
Foto: GEPA