Yes to Austria's team

First “EM victory”! These were Rangnick’s motives

Ralf Rangnick is looking forward to the EURO.

(Bild: APA/ROBERT JAEGER)

Basket for Bayern: Ralf Rangnick wants to write a "summer fairytale" with Austria's soccer team. He says: He is "wholeheartedly team boss".

The die is cast, at 9.57 a.m. yesterday the Austrian Football Association proudly announced: "Ralf Rangnick remains team manager of the national team!"

After days of deliberation, the 65-year-old German turned Bayern Munich down, but did not succumb to the courtship of the German record champions.

His reasons:

• "I am wholeheartedly an Austrian team manager. This job gives me an incredible amount of pleasure and I am determined to successfully continue on our chosen path!"

• "I would like to emphasize that this is not a rejection of FC Bayern, but a decision for my team and our common goals!"

• "Our full concentration is on the EURO, we will do everything we can to get as far as possible!"

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Rangnick certainly showed character and cleverness, he doesn't have to turn everything upside down now, he doesn't have to do two jobs at once (playing the EUROs with Austria and planning Bayern's turnaround at the same time).

So the first "EURO victory", Rangnick is dreaming of a red-white-red "summer fairytale" and is firmly convinced that he can achieve great things with Austria in Germany this summer.

Praise and respect
This has earned him a lot of praise, recognition and respect from Krone readers, which will also give the team a lot of strength. All the players had always emphasized that they wanted to continue on their chosen path with Rangnick - and they all know that a Rangnick change just before the major soccer event would have caused some unrest.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Now everything is clear, Rangnick is taking a few more days off before his full focus is solely on the EURO. The squad for the training camp from May 29 in Windischgarsten will be announced in mid-May, followed by the tests against Serbia (Vienna, June 4) and Switzerland (St. Gallen, June 8), and on June 7 he has to nominate the final squad for the EURO. "Even stronger together "The moment of truth will come on June 17 in Düsseldorf with the opening group match against France, followed by Poland and the Netherlands.

Klaus Mitterdorfer

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Everyone is looking forward to it, ÖFB President Klaus Mitterdorfer sums up the mood in the country in one sentence: "Together we will now go into the EURO even stronger!"

Peter Klöbl