"Incredible honor"

But ÖFB team instead of Romania! Florucz “speechless”

Raul Florucz

(Bild: Facebook.com/NK Olimpija Ljubljana)

Raul Florucz is overwhelmed by being nominated for the Austrian national soccer team for the first time! The attacking player from Olimpija Ljubljana has Romanian roots, but agreed to play for the ÖFB after receiving a call from team boss Ralf Rangnick. "I was totally speechless when Mr. Rangnick called me and told me I'd been called up," explained the 23-year-old on Tuesday.

The son of Romanian parents was born in Vöcklabruck. He moved from the LASK academy to Croatia in 2019 and Florucz has been playing in Ljubljana since 2023. The left-footed player, who prefers to play on the right wing but can also operate in the attacking center, made his big breakthrough last year. With twelve goals this season, Florucz leads the scoring charts in the Slovenian league. He has scored in six of the last seven league games for the league leaders.

Romania also recently came knocking at
In spring 2020, Florucz had already played three games for Austria's U19 national team, after which, according to his own statements, there was no contact with the ÖFB for a long time. Romania then expressed great interest last year, with team boss legend Mircea Lucescu personally making representations to Ljubljana. In the fall, Florucz applied for Romanian citizenship with the support of the Romanian association. However, he has not yet received this, which means that he is currently only eligible to play for Austria.

Rangnick already had Florucz on the call-up list in November. By calling him up, he has now beaten the Romanians - who, ironically, are their first rivals in this year's World Cup qualifiers - to the punch. "I was born and grew up in Austria and took my first steps in soccer. To be called up to the national team is an incredible honor," emphasized Florucz. "I'm grateful for this opportunity and I'm looking forward to giving my best for the team."

A year and a half ago, krone.at already had Raul Florucz, who might soon be in the ÖFB team, on its radar, visited him and his then Tyrolean teammate Mateo Karamatic in Ljubljana and was able to gain some impressions of him - see video below!

Romanian opponents in World Cup qualifiers
Florucz will get his first chance to prove himself at the team camp in Vienna next week. There, after the play-off for promotion to League A of the Nations League against Serbia on June 7, the Austrians will also face Romania at the start of the World Cup qualifiers. The second leg against what is likely to be their fiercest rival in the battle for Austria's first World Cup appearance since 1998 will follow on October 12 in Bucharest.

Rangnick did not want to go into the influence of these upcoming duels on his nomination on Tuesday. "I spoke to him on the phone a few days ago and he was delighted," explained the team boss. "His reaction alone showed me that we've nominated a really good boy."