ÖFB Captain Alaba Counters Criticism of Coach Rangnick
Alaba expressed being "astonished" by the remarks from Gartner and Bartosch, reported the national team captain to the APA. "We stand for unity and solidarity. And we have no understanding when our team coach is attacked in such a way from within our own ranks," said Alaba.
ÖFB Captain Alaba: ÖFB Criticism of Rangnick "Not Good for Our Team and Our Entire Association"
The statements were discussed within the ÖFB selection. "We players naturally talk among ourselves about it and have a clear opinion," explained Alaba and commented on the critical remarks: "This is not good for our team and our entire association." Gartner had said in "profil" after the failure in the Nations League play-off against Serbia, among other things: "Soberly considered, we are not further with Rangnick than under Foda. His style of play is predictable. I miss the goals and the results. I expect new ideas from the team coach." Additionally, the Lower Austrian regional association head suggested that a more defensive style of play might be more effective. Alaba countered towards Gartner: "It is not the first time that someone from the board has expressed themselves publicly in a way that we as players cannot accept. In the fall, it was claimed that we players had threatened to strike, which was demonstrably not true. And now our coach is being criticized and the national team's style of play is being analyzed, unnecessarily and not very constructively."
ÖFB Team on the Right Path for Alaba
Furthermore, the Real Madrid professional emphasized in this context: "Everyone saw that we were clearly better in two games against Serbia. Unfortunately, we did not take our chances. But if someone now says we should sit back and change our style of play, then they have no idea about football. We want and need to play football exactly as our team coach allows us, so that we can be successful. I am absolutely sure that we are on the right path together." Bartosch had stated that Rangnick is "very difficult." Alaba rejected this portrayal. "The coach is not difficult at all. He tries to do everything to ensure that Austrian football develops positively. He delivers professional work and demands it. If that is difficult, then I wish for the new president to also be difficult."
Pivotal ÖFB Meeting on April 9
The new president could be decided on April 9, when the ÖFB election committee reconvenes. Kurt Svoboda (UNIQA) and Roland Schmid (ImmoUnited founder) have recently withdrawn their candidacy, but they would very likely not have achieved a majority. The current Sturm Graz President Christian Jauk is considered the most promising candidate for the position, which will likely be called Chairman of the Supervisory Board in the future. The new association boss will be officially inaugurated on May 18 during the federal general assembly in Bregenz, with Bartosch not standing for election again. According to "Kurier" and "Salzburger Nachrichten," the interim president assured Rangnick in a phone call on Saturday that he and the entire board fully support the team coach.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.