U21 era comes to an end

Gregoritsch farewell: “Want to show character!”

Werner Gregoritsch steps down after missing out on qualifying for the European Championship and almost 13 years as U21 coach.(Bild: GEPA)

The meaningless away match in France on Tuesday (18:30) marks the end of an era. Team boss Werner Gregoritsch steps down after missing out on qualifying for the European Championship and almost 13 years in charge of Austria's U21 team. Ahead of his 115th game in this role, the 66-year-old is once again counting on the character of his squad - he is leaving open the question of whether this is a final farewell to soccer.

"We want to show character and say goodbye in the best possible way," emphasized Gregoritsch, whose team are underdogs in Nancy. The surprising 2:0 win over Les Bleus in Ried last November - one of Gregoritsch's most memorable victories - does nothing to change that. In sporting terms, the three-pointer was ultimately worthless. Two draws against Cyprus put the red-white-red team in an awkward position, the race to catch up having failed at the latest with the 1:1 draw against Slovenia last Friday.

ÖFB sports director Peter Schöttel intends to present a successor in November, by which time amateur golfer Gregoritsch will perhaps be teeing off on a different green. In any case, his life has been shaped by the Lederwuchtel. In the 1980s, the man from Graz was a striker for his youth club GAK as well as VÖEST and Vienna in the Bundesliga, and his transition to coaching was seamless.

The last word has not yet been spoken
After spells at GAK, Mattersburg, LASK and Kapfenberg in the top two tiers, the former German and gymnastics teacher took up the U21 job in 2012. His points average (1.89) is quite respectable, but he did not manage more than one final round qualification (2019).

Michael Gregoritsch(Bild: AFP or licensors)

For Gregoritsch, who was always "running at full speed" on and off the pitch, beat cancer in the nineties and survived a heart attack in 2020, much of his life will continue to revolve around soccer - after all, his son Michael is a striker for both the ÖFB team and SC Freiburg. Whether we will see him in a coaching or official role again remains to be seen. "I don't want to use the word 'finally' in connection with retirement," Gregoritsch recently told the Kurier newspaper.