Hickersberger has EURO vision
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Article summary
Austria coach Josef Hickersberger revealed at his unveiling today that he hopes to play 20 friendlies before the country co-hosts UEFA EURO 2008™.
Article body
No1 choice
Hickersberger - who was capped 39 times by Austria between 1968 and 1978, and also took charge of the national team from 1988, guiding them to the 1990 FIFA World Cup - started the season at the helm of SK Rapid Wien, only to stand down when the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) made it clear he was the No1 choice to replace Hans Krankl following the expiry of his contract in October.
Huge opportunity
ÖFB president Friedrich Stickler, the man who instigated the move for Hickersberger, said of his new coach: "Josef was the best man for this job, both professionally and because of his personal qualities. We will certainly never have such a huge event in Austria again so it is imperative we give it our best, and to do that we have to have the best coaching team possible."
'Great start'
The association granted Hickersberger's wish to employ a new back-up team and he will work in tandem with his assistant at Rapid, Peter Persidis; the most-capped Austrian international ever, Andreas Herzog; and goalkeeping coach Klaus Lindenberger. "I'm obviously delighted that president Stickler allowed me to bring in my own men for these important positions - it's a great start," Hickersberger said. "Leading the national team on home soil at UEFA EURO 2008™ will be the pinnacle of my coaching career."
Dubai camp
Hickersberger will meet his domestic-based players for the first time at a warm-weather training camp in Dubai from 19-28 January, and has handed call-ups to four uncapped youngsters - Ramazan Özan, Mario Sonnleitner, Christian Fuchs and Zlato Juzunovic - for the gathering. "We are ready to start building for EURO," said the coach. "Hans did a really good job during his time in charge and was unlucky to miss out on the 2002 World Cup and EURO 2004™."
Peak condition
By the time UEFA EURO 2008™ comes around, Austria will not have appeared in a major tournament for a decade. Hence an extensive fixture list - starting against Canada in Vienna on 1 March - to ensure they are in peak condition for the arrival of the continent's finest football nations in the summer of 2008.
