"Unfortunately, the development of the team and consequently the performances and results have been going in a direction for several months that made this step necessary," said Rapid Vienna's Managing Director of Sport Markus Katzer in a statement on Thursday. Assistant coach Stefan Kulovits will take over the Hütteldorfer on an interim basis.

Football: Rapid Parted Ways with Coach Klauß - Kulovits Takes Over

Rapid is currently only one point away from sixth place, which is held by Blau-Weiß. In the most recent 15 Bundesliga matches, Rapid achieved only four wins, two draws, but nine defeats. 14 points in the mentioned period are almost the worst record of all twelve clubs. Only Altach and Austria Klagenfurt have even less to show for. "I am convinced that we have a squad that is much better than it may have seemed in recent months, and we want to try everything to qualify for a European competition again for the coming season," said Katzer, who plans to present a successor after the end of the season.

Good Autumn Followed by Disappointing Spring for Rapid Vienna

After the lackluster performance in Linz, Katzer did not want to comment on the topic of a coaching change, and Klauß was well aware of the seriousness of the situation. "The fact is, our season goal is in danger," said the 42-year-old German, who watched the game from the stands due to a yellow card suspension. "I am not feeling well, that's clear." Guido Burgstaller was outspoken. "We currently lack the willingness, mentality, and energy. If we continue like this, we won't win any more games," complained the veteran, who will host Blau-Weiß with Grün-Weiß on Sunday (2:30 PM) for the "return match."

Then Kulovits will already be on the sidelines, as he also led the training after Zoran Barisic's departure in November 2023. A few days later, the club agreed on Klauß, who led the 32-time champion to 31 wins, 16 draws, and 20 defeats in 67 games. In 2024, they finished the season in fourth place, made it to the group stage of the Conference League in a generally good autumn, and advanced to the quarter-finals. But even there, it ended in emptiness. The bitter quarter-final exit against the Swedish representative Djurgarden last week seamlessly joined the disappointments of the spring.

(APA/Red)

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