The question of competence

Rangnick: More than just team manager after the European Championship?

Ralf Rangnick (left), ÖFB President Klaus Miterdorfer

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Will Ralf Rangnick be given more responsibilities at the ÖFB after the European Championship? Will he become more than "just" team manager? Not impossible, as President Klaus Mitterdorfer suggests in a recent APA interview.

"We have always conveyed to him that we are grateful when he gets involved in many topics - even if that sometimes causes a bit of unrest internally," says Mitterdorfer. Rangnick is "demanding, but being demanding at a top level is also what gets you further. Everyone on the board must be aware that we can only develop further if we question ourselves critically. I try to do the same for myself."

"Must be permissible"
What does this mean for a possible expansion of Rangnick's powers? "We haven't even talked about the content of the contract yet. He's not asking to be allowed to decide this and that in order to remain our coach," said the ÖFB boss: "It's not about him deciding who coaches the junior national teams. But we must be allowed to talk about how we want to develop coaches for the clubs and the youth national teams. Maybe we'll have someone for the senior team ourselves when the coach leaves at some point."

ÖFB President Klaus Mitterdorfer

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

No question of money
The question of money is not the decisive factor in the matter of extending the contract. Nor was it in the recent past, when Rangnick was apparently on the verge of leaving for FC Bayern. "We never discussed money with him in detail," said Mitterdorfer. Rather, Rangnick's decision to join the Austrian national team was a "decision from the heart".

It is quite possible that Rangnick's word will carry even more weight in return for his "heartfelt decision" after the European Championship, especially if it is successful. "That doesn't just apply to the person of the team manager," Mitterdorfer states: "There are also other people with great expertise who can make a decisive contribution. Regardless of the result at the European Championships, you have to deal with the structures. Success would only generate greater strength to implement these things."