Rapid had started the season well with three wins, but then the thread broke. The Viennese lost three of the last four games, plus a draw and missing out on the European Cup group stage. While Bruckner and Peschek said goodbye, sports director Zoran Barisic Feldhofer strengthened his back. The coach himself feels equal to the situation. “Since I’ve been there, I’ve only had pressure and playoffs. That’s why I think I can handle it quite well,” said Feldhofer, who hadn’t thought about retiring. “I’ve seen worse situations as a player.”
The announced farewells to Bruckner and Peschek came as a surprise to Feldhofer and came very quickly. Of course, you can’t keep that completely away from the players. “I don’t know if these are really the best decisions. I’m not a fan of making such decisions at such short notice and with emotions,” commented Feldhofer, who wants to concentrate on his job as a coach.
Decisive penalty “definitely wrong decision”
In this role, Feldhofer is particularly confident in the first half against Sturm, in which Rapid was the more active team, that better days could come again soon. But the end of the game was symbolic of the current situation. After a goal by Nicolas Kühn (15th) and a lucky goal by Gregory Wüthrich (24th) for Sturm, it was 1-1 until shortly before the end, before a controversial penalty made the decision in Graz’ favor.
Storm wins at Rapid
Sturm Graz won the top game of the sixth round of the Bundesliga against the ailing Rapid 2-1 (1-1) on Sunday.
Martin Moormann and Emanuel Emegha fought each other right into the penalty area. The Rapid defender made contact, but whether that was the cause of Emegha’s fall remains open. There was only one opinion in the green-white camp. “The penalty was clearly not a penalty,” Feldhofer stated. “Definitely a wrong decision,” said Barisic. Moormann, who saw the red card, said he was first fouled by Emegha. “In the replay you can already see that my hand was a bit out. But it was there because I just fell. I can’t put my hand anywhere else.” Tomi Horvat converted the penalty (86′).
Critical words from President Bruckner
President Bruckner experienced the bitter defeat in the stands. The 57-year-old found critical words to say goodbye. According to Bruckner, structural reforms are needed if the record champions in Austria want to remain at the top. “This membership association must arrive in the third millennium! The membership association, as it is at the moment, cannot be managed,” said Bruckner on Sunday.
To boil it down to a common denominator, leaner decision-making structures are needed, Bruckner said. “I can’t do anything in a hundred thousand committees. We’re in competition with a team like Red Bull Salzburg, LASK, who also have an insanely broad membership base, and there are a few other teams. But the decision-making paths are much shorter there,” he emphasized. “I believe in the members’ association, I’ll say that quite frankly. But not in this form, where you paralyze each other and so much power goes inwards.”
“Very, very negative atmosphere” in the club
This topic was included in his now obsolete agenda for the period 2022 to 2025. It is about making the statute and decision-making fit for the modern world. “Without that, it will be very difficult for SK Rapid to continue playing in the concert of the greats in this country,” said Bruckner, who generally sensed a “very, very negative atmosphere” in the club. Since taking office, he has tried to fill in the gaps that have arisen and to approach people who did not support his election. But “if you constantly recognize that you are hitting the wall with all your activities, you have to draw the consequences”.
Bruckner addressed conflicts of direction and various factions within the association without naming the child. The majority are people who do not have an official function, but who still have influence. The hard core of the supporters, the ultras based in Block West, had stood behind Bruckner and against his challenger Roland Schmid in the run-up to his enthronement in November 2019. Bruckner narrowly won the election with 53 percent approval. In the end, the relationship with the organized fan scene was no longer smooth.
Bruckner defended in principle that after the loss against Vaduz there were loud discussions with fan representatives in the stadium. “We’re the largest membership club in this country, so all the activities that happen here are a bit of a solitaire thing. But in Germany it’s not entirely uncommon for the other big member clubs to talk to the leading figures in the fan scene,” explained the manager. Nevertheless, the club “suffered real damage” in terms of image.
