Mario Sonnleitner becomes assistant coach at FAC – promotion or relegation?

Mario Sonnleitner becomes assistant coach at FAC – promotion or relegation?

Mario Sonnleitner, known from his impressive career as a player, now has ambitious coaching ambitions. After 357 appearances for Rapid Vienna and 108 games with Sturm Graz, the former defender has taken his first step into the world of coaching. After a short interlude as a youth coach at Rapid and an initial engagement at ASV 13, Sonnleitner is now taking on the role of assistant coach at the second division club FAC, where he works under head coach Mitja Mörec. This change comes after Gerald Linshalm left the club and indicates Sonnleitner's desire for further development, which was already noticeable at the youth level when he gained his first coaching experience laola1.at reported.

An aspiring coach with vision

In an initial statement, Sonnleitner was enthusiastic about his new position: “The FAC is a club that has worked very well in recent years and has enormous potential.” This assessment is supported by the positive impressions that managing director Lukas Fischer gathered during the selection process. Fischer emphasizes: “The conversations with Mario were extremely positive from the start.” The club, currently in 13th place in the table, would like to bring a breath of fresh air into the team with Sonnleitner and Mörec in order to avert the threat of relegation. The gap to the relegation places is currently seven points, which puts pressure on FAC to make the season more successful as they go into the winter break with 16 points.

Sonnleitner's impressive CV is not lacking in experience, even if his promotion to the professional coaching landscape was prevented by ASV 13's relegation to the 2nd national league. Nevertheless, the former player only has words of praise for his former club: "I would like to say a big thank you to ASV 13! The club gave me the opportunity to gain my first experience as a coach." With this decision, Sonnleitner is now taking the leap into a new era and is clearly setting high goals for the development of the FAC today.at reported.