A Change of Coaching Staff for the First Team
Following the 1-0 defeat against SV Ried last weekend, President Martin Bruckner and Managing Director of Sport Zoran Barišić had a detailed discussion in which they came to the decision that current head coach Ferdinand Feldhofer and assistant coach Matthias Urlesberger would be relieved of their duties with immediate effect.
The two Styrians therefore did not travel to Wattens for our ÖFB Cup Round of 16 match against WSG Tirol, which is scheduled for Tuesday evening. For that match, and until further notice, Zoran Barišić will take over with the remaining coaching team of Thomas Hickersberger and Jürgen Macho. At least for the game in Wattens, sports coordinator Steffen Hofmann will also be lending his support.
Zoran Barišić had the following to say regarding the decision: "I would like to thank Ferdinand Feldhofer and of course Matthias Urlesberger for their constant professionalism and dedicated work. Due to the overall situation, however, it was time to make a change and therefore, in the interests of the club and the future presidium, I have decided in consultation with Martin Bruckner that I will take over the position of head coach with the first team in addition to my work as Managing Director of Sport. We now have to combine all our strengths and act as a team in all areas and use all the resources available to us. Not least the great history of our club is proof that you can only be successful together and with team spirit. I will give it my all, and I’ll join the team during the course of this Sunday," said the 52-year-old from Vienna.
Ferdinand Feldhofer, who took up his post as Rapid head coach at the end of November 2021, said: "I was aware from the start that the task would be a difficult one. Nevertheless, I decided against a job abroad and in favour of Rapid because I wanted to take on this challenge. I wish all the more that we could have managed the changes more quickly and successfully. The Ried game was a reflection of our entire year together. There were always positive phases, but too often we made life difficult for ourselves with our own mistakes. That's unfortunately why we never managed to go on a positive run. For me personally, it was a very hectic time, because we had almost exclusively high pressure games right from the start. In addition to that, there was a negative mood around the club. I hope that this will change in the autumn, and I wish Rapid a smoother future. Finally, I would like to thank the entire team, the coaches and the staff for their cooperation."