Career over

Georg Koch gives up fight for comeback

Former Rapid goalkeeper Georg Koch has finally given up the fight for his comeback. The renowned German neurologist Hans-Heiner Friedmann informed the German professional on Tuesday, after consultation with ENT specialist Jürgen Lindemann, that he would have to end his career due to persistent balance problems.

Koch had been out of action since August 24, 2008, after a firecracker thrown from the visitors' sector exploded near him during the Vienna derby against Austria Vienna at the Hanappi Stadium. The Rapid player suffered a serious hearing injury and has been on sick leave ever since. The goalkeeper had been brought to Hütteldorf in June 2008, but then terminated his contract, which was valid until June 2009, on January 31.

"I hoped until the end that I would be able to continue my career. But I have to realize that it no longer makes sense, even if it hurts at the moment," Koch said on the soccer association's website. He hopes that the alleged perpetrators will receive a deterrent punishment so that an incident like the one in Vienna does not happen again.

Koch calls for consequences
"It was probably two 16-year-olds. I'm not interested in making money out of this. It was two idiots who are responsible for the end of my career. I've never had any problems with verbal abuse, but things like that shouldn't happen in a stadium. There must be consequences," said Koch, who wants to stay in soccer.

He knows that he can organize well and has seen a lot of games recently, cultivated old contacts and made new ones, according to the "early retiree", who will also process his story with the help of a psychologist and is confident of a job as sports director later on. The former keeper, who lives near Düsseldorf, makes no secret of his desire to pass on his experiences at some point to his former club Fortuna, where he started his professional career in 1991.