Ralf Rangnick Rejects Move to BVB and Remains Head Coach of ÖFB Team
"Yes, I absolutely intend to do that," Ralf Rangnick said on Canal+ on Wednesday when asked if he would continue to coach the ÖFB team. Hours later, it was also announced who would succeed Nuri Sahin at the German Bundesliga club. It is the 53-year-old Croatian Niko Kovac, a former coach of Bayern Munich.
ÖFB Head Coach Ralf Rangnick: "I Fully Identify with This Task"
"I didn't make the decision to stay here last April (Note: FC Bayern knocked at the time) for nothing. I fully identify with this task."
Ralf Rangnick met with Dortmund's Managing Director Hans-Joachim Watzke and Sporting Director Lars Ricken in Salzburg on Monday. The 66-year-old's contract runs until the end of the year and does not include an exit clause. If qualification for the 2026 World Cup is successful, the contract will automatically be extended until after the tournament in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. If the Austrians are still playing in the play-off for World Cup tickets in March 2026, Rangnick would also be bound for these matches. A transfer fee would be due in the event of an early departure.
Kovac at the Gates
During the Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk (3:1), in which ÖFB team player Marcel Sabitzer played through, several German media outlets such as Sky, sportschau.de and the "Bild" newspaper had already reported about Dortmund's new coach. After the final whistle, there was also the official confirmation from Ricken.
"We actually wanted to announce it tomorrow. But there is a basic agreement that Niko Kovac will take over the team from Sunday," Ricken said in the Sky interview. On Saturday in the league away game at Heidenheim, interim coach Mike Tullberg will be in charge for the last time. Kovac has worked in Salzburg for many years in the past, between 2006 and 2009 as a player, then as a juniors coach and between 2011 and 2012 as assistant coach of the former serial champions.
(APA/Red)
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