Krankl full of new ideas

Hans Krankl has announced his first squad as Austria coach for the friendly international against Slovakia in Graz on Wednesday.

Shake up
The 49-year-old former SK Rapid Wien and FC Barcelona striker kept his promise to shake up the Austrian team and named seven debutants in his 18-man squad. Krankl took over from Croatian Otto Baric after he was fired for failing to guide Austria to the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals. A 6-0 play-off defeat by Turkey emphatically ended their hopes of participating in the Far East.

Stalwarts saved
But the 49-year-old has kept faith with Rapid's Andreas Herzog, FC Tirol Innsbruck's Michael Baur and Ivica Vastic of SK Sturm Graz, three of the national team's stalwarts. He has also called up four foreign-based players - AC Fiorentina's Alex Manninger, Martin Stranzl and Markus Weissenberger of TSV 1860 München and Stefan Lexa of SpVgg Unterhaching.

'Everything could change'
“This is the current situation but everything could change in no time," Krankl said. "I am glad that I am finally starting, although there are many sides better than us. In the four forthcoming friendlies I want to build up the squad that will carry us through the EURO 2004™ qualifiers." 

Austria squad
Manninger, Goriupp, Baur, Feldhofer, Dospel, Hickersberger, Stranzl, Herzog, Lexa, Weissenberger, Höller, Kitzbichler, Panis, Aufhauser, Vastic, Linz, Wallner, Brunmayr.