Rangnick cuts leisure time – Austrian team focuses after USA World Cup
Less leisure, a new tone. Like after the World Cup in the USA, team boss Ralf Rangnick wants to sharpen the focus of the Austrian FA team and drastically curb leisure activities, because the golf game in the camp did not deliver the desired performances and the players will henceforth have more time for training.
On May 27, the Austrian national players met at the Austrian FA campus in Vienna‑Aspern to prepare for the departure to the World Cup in the USA a week later. The meeting place served not only for sporting preparation but also for the organisational arrangements for the upcoming trip. In their luggage, alongside the football boots, were also personal leisure items.
Among the items brought were private golf equipment belonging to Michael Gregoritsch and Xaver Schlager. During the four‑week World Cup stint in Santa Barbara they used golf practice on some afternoons after the regular football training. However, the golf game was not considered the reason for the team's disappointing performance in the final tournament.
Ralf Rangnick, who had experienced the 0‑3 loss to Spain four years earlier, now drew consequences and said last week: “I would not do that again.” He emphasized that leisure should be reduced “to a different level” in the future. The aim is to strengthen the players’ mental focus, not their musculature. The time needed for that should be sharply shortened to increase the training focus.
Golf leisure is drastically reduced
The new tone focuses on keeping golf as a pure leisure activity and not compromising physical recovery. Some players regularly commuted from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, stayed overnight there and returned the next day – roughly two hours by car each way. Rangnick wants to minimise such trips in the future to boost concentration.
For the post‑World Cup preparation the team has chosen Hotel Dilly in Windischgarsten as a new base. In contrast to the sprawling camp in Santa Barbara, the players are now to live closer together to strengthen team spirit. Rangnick considers this tighter accommodation more important than before.
Leadership duo Gregoritsch and Schlager in top form
Michael Gregoritsch and Xaver Schlager are regarded as the absolute leaders of the squad. Gregoritsch has already scored three goals in four Bundesliga appearances for Augsburg, making him his club’s record scorer. Schlager, 28, moved successfully to the Premier League with Nottingham Forest and has been explicitly praised this season.
Rangnick cut leisure time immediately after the World Cup: anyone who played for his club on Friday or Saturday had to travel to Windischgarsten on Sunday, while only Sunday players were allowed to appear on Monday morning. The first training is scheduled for Monday afternoon, followed by a final training session on Wednesday. On Thursday the Nations League match in Linz against Israel (FIFA ranking 76) takes place, with three days between the first training and kickoff.
In the coaching staff, Lars Kornetka, who was Rangnick’s first assistant for four years, has left the Austrian FA and is now head coach of Eintracht Braunschweig. Stefan Oesen was promoted to first assistant of the team boss. Additionally, Maximilian Ritscher, previously assistant to Didi Kühbauer at LASK, supports the team as co‑coach.