Wrabetz’s list was the only one up for election. 1,284 of the 17,791 members were present. Wrabetz thanked him and said in a first reaction: “We see that as a great leap of faith.”
First meeting held
Even before he was nominated as the new head of the club, Wrabetz, whose executive committee is holding its first meeting on Monday, once again outlined his goals for the forthcoming three-year term. In the national area, titles should be played again, missing out on a place in the European Cup would be “a disaster,” said the 62-year-old. Andreas Herzog and Andreas Treichl were presented as new club ambassadors with videos.
Wrabetz also announced that Rapid record player Steffen Hofmann would take up a “job in the management of Rapid GmbH” and be “the strong voice of the sport” there. Hofmann is a member of the new executive committee, but will soon be stepping down from the committee and going into operational business.
However, the German will not become the sporting director – the filling of this post is still open, as is that of the business director. The previous sports director Zoran Barisic took over the coaching job after the separation from Ferdinand Feldhofer and will keep this position, as Hofmann reported. Barisic looked to the future with great anticipation. “I really enjoy working with the guys on the field.”
Bruckner appealed for unity
Hofmann also announced a consistent game philosophy, an improvement in scouting and a typical Rapid requirement profile for newcomers. In addition, an average of two players from their own offspring are to be raised into the fighting team every year. Investor Michael Tojner, who will be responsible for the sports area together with Hofmann and board member Michael Hatz, added: “Europe must be mandatory and we have to play for the cup and championship.”
Before that, the outgoing Rapid President Martin Bruckner reviewed his term of office. The 57-year-old, who was greeted with applause and standing ovations, is handing over the club with equity of EUR 21.36 million, and a profit of EUR 5.76 million was achieved in the 2021/22 financial year. In his speech, Bruckner appealed that Rapid should appear united in the future – an allusion to the strong turbulence within the club, which ultimately led to Bruckner’s departure.
Compared to the Annual General Meeting three years ago, when Bruckner narrowly defeated Roland Schmid in a contest vote, this year’s event went smoothly, with no discordant tones to be heard.