Peter Stöger back at Rapid Vienna – A new coach, new opportunities!

Peter Stöger back at Rapid Vienna – A new coach, new opportunities!

Peter Stöger was officially announced as Rapid Vienna's new coach. The announcement of his commitment came on Monday after Robert Klauß was released in April 2025. Stefan Kulovits had previously taken over management of the team on an interim basis. Rapid Vienna finished fifth in the championship group and will now compete in the European Cup play-off. The games will take place on May 29th and June 1st, 2025, with the opponent in the play-off being the winner of the semi-final between LASK and Hartberg.

If things are successful, Rapid Vienna will be allowed to compete in the second round of the Conference League qualification on July 24, 2025. Peter Stöger, who most recently worked as head coach at Ferencvaros Budapest until December 2021, looks back on a successful coaching career. He had previously managed Vienna Austria and won the championship title there in 2013. Stöger was also successful as a player, winning three championship titles with Austria and one with Rapid Vienna in 1996, playing over 100 games for the club.

New addition to the Austria Vienna coaching team

An interesting development in the Austrian football scene concerns the coaching team at FK Austria Wien. Gerald Linshalm has been hired as the new coach and has already signed a one-year contract. Linshalm, 39 years old and from Wr. Originally from Neustadt, he previously worked at SV Mattersburg. He has already completed the PCR test and is now back in training. Linshalm is pleased with Austria's trust and emphasizes the importance of the collaboration with Peter Stöger, emphasizing the joint development of the training content.

Peter Stöger appreciates the addition of Linshalm, especially his expertise in training management and fitness assessment of the players. These factors could be crucial for the coaching team’s collective success.

Austrian trainers in an international context

The successes of Austrian coaches in the Bundesliga are historically remarkable. Christian Ilzer is moving from Sturm Graz to TSG Hoffenheim and will become the 17th Austrian coach in the German Bundesliga. Successful coaches such as Ernst Happel, Max Merkel and Oliver Glasner have won championship titles and European Cup victories in the past. Happel, for example, won the championship title with Hamburger SV in 1982 and 1983 as well as the national championship cup in 1983. Glasner led Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League in 2022 and also brought Wolfsburg into the Champions League.

Stöger himself worked successfully with 1. FC Köln and led the club back to the Bundesliga in 2014 and the Europa League in 2016. His short time at Borussia Dortmund, in which he achieved Champions League qualification, also shows his influence in European football.

These current developments in Austrian football underline the dynamism and potential that both the clubs and the coaches bring with them. The coming months could be groundbreaking for Rapid Vienna and the other clubs, especially in the upcoming European Cup play-offs.

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