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SK Rapid Ticket Refund
Due to the nationwide lockdown in Austria, SK Rapid’s much awaited UEFA Europa League home game against West Ham United on 25 November had to be played behind locked doors. Starting from 7 December there’s now the possibility of a ticket refund. On SK Rapid’s website this information is to be found in German only. Here is a translation.
All annual ticket holders and all day ticket buyers will have the opportunity to a refund from Tuesday, December 7th at 11:00 a.m. (MET; 10 a.m. GMT).
Please use the user account of which the purchase has been completed, and select the desired option. A preselection must be made under the menu item “RĂźckerstattung Herbst 2021” (refund autumn 2021). You can choose “money refund” or “waiver of the refund”.
Should you choose the money reimbursement for the affected games, this can then be requested for the respective game under the menu item âTicketrĂźckerstattung” (ticket refund).
SK Rapid asks to complete the ticket refund procedure by December 20, 2021 at the latest and hopes to see you again in HĂźtteldorf soon!
Rapid Shop âĄď¸ https://www.rapidshop.at/skrapid/ajax.aspx/shop/20599055-3f1a-45a8-8d88-138ee51895fc/Tickets.html
Câmon on you Irons!
Having celebrated a massive win over European champions and leaders of the PL, Chelsea, we rightly revel in the huge success West Ham have already been this season! However, now letâs take a look at the fixtures coming up till the end of the year: eight matches – a game every three or four days (sometimes only two) – will be played until the beginning of the New Year within this busiest time of the year! Come on you Irons!
Russell Brand celebrating West Hamâs win over Chelsea:
Now whatâs next for West Ham:
On Thursday Dinamo Zagreb will come to London Stadium for the last group game of the Europa League, then West Ham will travel to Burnley to take on the Clarets, and return to London to play an other derby in the capital when Arsenal are going to host the Irons at the Emirates Stadium.
There will be two more games before Christmas then: first Norwich will travel to the London Stadium and just two days ahead of Christmas Eve, the Hammers have to make the short trip to North London to meet Tottenham for the Carabao Cup quarterfinal.
Southampton on Boxing Day at home (the first home fixture on the 26th of December since West Hamâs move to the London Stadium) and an away day at Watford will conclude the year 2021, before the rounds of reverse fixtures are going to start on New Yearâs Day in London with the first game of 2022 at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace.
Letâs hope that David Moyes can manage his squad well and there wonât be more injuries when the Hammers have to play every three or four days from now on to the beginning of the new year!
Come on you Irons!
Massive 3-2 For West Ham
West Hamâs massive 3-2 win over Chelsea means that the Hammers now have beaten Liverpool and Chelsea and cemented their fourth place in the Premier League table. The victory ended West Ham’s run of three league games without a win since their magnificent 3-2 victory over Liverpool before the international break.
Operating with a back three of Craig Dawson, Moussa Diop and Kurt Zouma, West Ham soaked up Chelsea’s pressure before attempting to strike on the counter.
Chelsea took the lead with a well placed header from Thiago Silva throughout the first half, Manu Lanzini levelled from the penalty spot for West Ham, but Chelsea restored their lead as Mason Mount drilled an impressive volley into the West Ham goal shortly before the halftime whistle.
But West Ham didnât only come from behind once, they equalised again in the second half courtesy to a system change in midfield and a well-taken goal from the impressive Jarrod Bowen. Then Bowen almost made it 3-2 moments before Arthur Masuaku‘s winner in the 87th minutes: with a cross-turned-shot he caught Chelsea keeper Mendy by surprise and scored the winner for West Ham.
Chelsea have conceded multiple goals for the first time this Premier League season. The last team to score multiple Premier League goals versus Chelsea was Aston Villa in a 2-1 away win on 23 May, the last team to get more than two goals over the Blues were West Brom with. 5-2 win on 3 April. For only the third time in 53 games since Thomas Tuchel took charge as head coach, Chelsea conceded more than one goal â and NâGolo Kante was missing on each occasion.
But anyway, West Ham also missed Ogbonna from the beginning and lost Johnson and Zouma in this game due to injuries!
Oh, Iâm so chuffed about this famous win over Chelsea for West Ham, the fourth one in four years! My thoughts go back almost four years when Marko Arnautovicâs first goal for West Ham secured a 1-0 win for David Moyesâs men at London Stadium in 2017 (pic below). Since that win the Irons had beaten beaten Chelsea twice: in July 3-2 at home and, before that, 1-0 away in the same season. A double over last seasonâs Champions League winners Chelsea, like 2019/20, would be possible this season, too!
https://youtu.be/DxHA_fN0Df4
Masuakuâs goal somehow reminds me of Paul Koncheskyâs 3-2 against Liverpool in the FA Cup final 2006. This was also a cross which wasnât meant to be a shot on goal – and went in anyway! But this time there wasnât Steven Gerrard to equalise, and West Ham can celebrate a massive win!
The Hammers are now only six points behind Chelsea in the table and four ahead of Arsenal, who face Everton at Goodison Park on Monday.
David Moyes interview: âWe showed great character and resilience once againâ
Match report (The Times): Arthur Masuaku exposes first cracks of the Thomas Tuchel era at Chelsea
Extended highlights: https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2021/december/05-december/extended-highlights-west-ham-united-3-2-chelsea
đŹđ§ Best Place to Spend Christmas?
Fraser Nelson writes in The Telegraph that Britain is perhaps the best place in Europe to spend this Christmas. Bavariaâs winter markets have closed, Franceâs bistros wonât let anyone in without a pass sanitaire, Belgium has banned private parties and Irelandâs pubs are all under curfew. But in Britain, the vaccinated and the unvaccinated can walk, work, eat and drink where they like. At least until nowâŚ
Unless the omicron variant changes everything, we may well see in the New Year having overcome the virus and upheld the basic values of liberty. Britain is starting to look like the new Sweden: keeping calm and carrying on.
Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, has flatly ruled out compulsory vaccination, seeing it as not just illiberal but counterproductive: âIf you make the vaccine attractive, people will want it,â says one senior official. âIf we start to threaten people, it all changes very quickly.â Right now, Britain has face masks on public transport. And non-binding advice from one minister to go easy on âsnogging under the mistletoeâ. And, so far, not much else.
Last time around, Britain locked down longer and harder than anyone else in Europe. This time, Javidâs instinct is the opposite: not to jump too soon, trust the boosters and see what happens. Quite a gamble. But this time, itâs one the Government is willing to take.
Let the Bubbles Fly Against Bogey Team Brighton
West Ham have never beaten tonightâs opponents Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League, and for the first time since April the Hammers have lost two Premier League outings in a row. Therefore itâs time to get counted tonight at 20:30 (MET) when the Hammers take on their âPL bogey teamâ in an attempt to get back to winning ways and start well into the most busy footballing period of the year. A win would be a welcome sign showing that the metamorphosis of West Ham under David Moyes will not âfade and dieâ.
West Ham’s win in the Europa League over Rapid Vienna has been sandwiched by two Premier League defeats. The Hammers have lost two league games in a row for the first time since April. Despite those setbacks, West Ham sit fourth after 13 matches with 23 points and are one of just four Premier League clubs with a positive goal difference.
Brighton has become something like a bogey team for West Ham since the Seagullsâ promotion to the Premier League. West Ham have lost the first three meetings before drawing five in a row, including both games last season: 2-2 at London Stadium in December and 1-1 at Brighton’s Amex Stadium in May.
The Sussex side had a very good start into the current season. They even broke into the top four, but have been on a bad run of results for some time now, having failed to win any of their previous eight Premier League matches, drawing six and losing two. However, courtesy to their good form at the beginning of the season, Graham Potter’s team still are in the upper half of the table in ninth with 18 points.
It would be very much the “West Ham way” in its worse sense of the word, if the Hammers tonight gifted a win to the Seagulls, a team which desperately is looking to end a bad run. It really happened much too often in past years that West Ham were the first team that helped their respective opponents gain new confidence in situations like these by losing despite having been tipped to win against an out-of-form team.
Therefore David Moyes said, shortly after his return to West Ham in December 2019, that the Hammers were known as an âinconsistent, flaky sideâ and that he was out to change that. Tonight he and his team have the perfect opportunity to show how far they have come! With a win against the Irons’ bogey, they would not only be back to winning ways and remain fourth in the Premier League (regardless of Arsenal’s result against Manchester United tomorrow), they would show what a big transformation has happened under the second reign of David Moyes.
When the Hammers played very well for some time under Moyes’s successor and predecessor, Manuel Pellegrini (1 July 2018 – 28 December 2019), I thought that with this high calibre manager at the helm the Hammers had become a team with a “winning mentality” and spoke of a “Pellegrini Revolution” – until in autumn 2019 the train went off the rails. âHammer of the yearâ Lukasz Fabianski had got injured early into Pellegriniâs second season in charge, and the manager had not provided for appropriate cover.
Pellegriniâs signing, Spanish goalkeeper Roberto, conceded four goals in the first game after Fabâs injury against minnows Oxford United (West Ham tumbled out of the League Cup with this 0-4), and in the consecutive matches he was a permanent factor of concern and uncertainty in defence. With Roberto in goal West Ham mustered only one clean sheet (in his first game in charge against Newport in the League Cup) and didn’t win a single game. Following Fabianski’s injury West Ham won only two games from 14 matches until Pellegrini was sacked, and in these ties against Chelsea (1-0) and Southampton (1-0) the Irons’ third keeper David Martin played in goal.
Then David Moyes started his second spell with West Ham with a 4-0 victory at London Stadium against Bournemouth. He saved the Hammers from the drop when he came back to east London by the end of December 2019, and has overseen an unbelievable metamorphosis of our beloved club with qualifying for the Europa League group stage for the first time, finishing sixth in the Premier League 2020/21 (after having been in the running for a Champions League spot for a long time, with only one win missing in the end). So far he has even been exceeding this success in the current season with winning and winning and winning ⌠(only four losses and 12 wins from 20 games so far!). West Ham have gained 23 points from 13 Premier League matches and are one of just four clubs with a positive goal difference (also a huge improvement compared to previous seasons).
Now let’s hope that we keep going this term when the most challenging part of the season starts (including the busy Christmas season with matches on 26 and 28 of December). Until the end of the year the Hammers will play a game every three or four days and must hope that no long term injuries will be added to the one that Angelo Ogbonna suffered in the famous victory over Liverpool.
First of all, tonight it’s time to beat the bogey team from east Sussex in east London. There should be a “Sussexit” (as Megxit has to be called now!) out of West Hamâs bad record with the âeast Sussexesâ: a first win over Brighton in the ninth Premier League outing of these two teams would end the winless streak against the Seagulls and keep West Ham in fourth place in the Premier League. Prior to the visit of Chelsea at London Stadium next Saturday, that would be a clear sign that the âMoyes Metamorphosisâ is remaining on track! And, contrary to the âPellegrini Revolutionâ, that this metamorphosis could be one that lasts for longer.
Come on you Irons!
Servas, Ferdl! Griass enk, Steirer!
Der neue Rapid-Coach steht fest. Es ist Ferdinand Feldhofer, der schon ab Montag das Training bei den GrĂźn-WeiĂen leitet, wie der SK Rapid auf seiner Homepage mitteilt. Der gebĂźrtige Steirer und langjährige Sturm-Spieler bringt Matthias Urlesberger als Co-Trainer mit. Damit kommen nun nach dem Bier (Wechsel von Ottakringer zu GĂśsser zu Beginn dieser Saison) auch Chef– und neuer Co-Trainer beim SK Rapid aus der “grĂźnen Mark”.
GeschäftsfĂźhrer Sport Zoran BariĹĄiÄ erzählte, dass er viele Gespräche mit potenziellen Nachfolgern aus dem In- und Ausland gefĂźhrt hat. Einige aus dem groĂen Kandidatenkreis hätten in Hearings Ăźberzeugt – darunter wohl auch der bis vor Kurzem bei Barnsley in England tätige Markus Schopp. Aber in Summe habe ihn Ferdinand Feldhofer âam meisten Ăźberzeugtâ.
Wobei Schopp wohl zu teuer gewesen wäre, denn er bezieht sicherlich nach der Beurlaubung beim Tabellen-Vorletzten der Championship, dem FC Burnley, noch ein hohes Managergehalt, auf das er im Fall der Annahme eines neuen Jobs wohl hätte verzichten mßssen.
Feldhofer zählt – so Barisic – zu einer neuen, modernen Trainergeneration, setzt auf innovative Arbeitsmethoden und habe bereits bei seinen bisherigen Stationen bei Lafnitz und WAC bewiesen, dass er auf attraktiven FuĂball mit einer konkreten Idee setzt und mit seinem Konzept auch Erfolg haben kann. Ganz wichtig war fĂźr Barisic auch, “dass er sich mit unserer Spielphilosophie, die sich kĂźnftig durch den ganzen Verein ziehen soll, voll identifiziert und diese auch umsetzen willâ.
Ferdinand Feldhofer (42) war – im Gegensatz zu seinem Konkurrenten Schopp (47) – bereits als aktiver Spieler mit dem SK Rapid erfolgreich und zählte als Innenverteidiger von 2002 bis 2005 zu jener Mannschaft, die unter dem damaligen Cheftrainer Josef Hickersberger den Meistertitel 2004/05 holte.
Auf der Rapid-Homepage wird auch die erfolgreiche Qualifikation fßr die Gruppenphase der UEFA Champions League 2005/06 im selben Atemzug erwähnt. Allerdings wechselte Feldhofer schon zu Beginn der Saison 2005/06 zu Wacker Innsbruck: als Rapid am 23. August 2005 durch das Kopfballtor von Valachovic auswärts Lok Moskau besiegte und es damit in die Gruppenphase mit Spielen gegen Bayern, Juventus und Brßgge schaffte, stand Feldhofer schon bei Wacker Innsbruck unter Vertrag. Bereits im Juli 2005 spielte er mit den Tirolern gegen Rapid.
Der in Vorau am 23.10.1979 geborene Steirer begann in seinem Heimatort mit dem Kicken. 1998 kam er zu Sturm, wo er zeitweise in derselben Mannschaft mit Franco Foda, dem heutigen Ăśsterreichischen Teamtrainer, spielte. 2001 legte er sich mit dem damaligen Sturm-Präsidenten Hannes Kartnig an, als er seinen Vertrag nicht vorzeitig verlängern wollte. Er klagte daraufhin bei Gericht gegen seine Versetzung in die Amateurmannschaft des SK Sturm und kĂźndigte seinen Vertrag. Er bekam schlieĂlich im Jänner 2002 die Spielerlaubnis fĂźr seinen ablĂśsefreien Wechsel zum SK Rapid, wurde aber von Sturm ebenfalls geklagt.
Bei Rapid war der grĂśĂte Erfolg der schon genannte (31.) Meistertitel 2004/05, bei dem Feldhofer ua gegen Admira ein entscheidendes Tor zum 1:0 in der SĂźdstadt in der Nachspielzeit erzielte (22. Runde). Insgesamt erzielte der Defensivmann Feldhofer fĂźr Rapid sechs Tore in 91 Pflichtspielen, davon vier in seiner letzten Saison. Nach dieser Spielzeit wechselte er im Sommer 2005 zu Wacker Innsbruck und kehrte in der Folge nochmals zu Sturm zurĂźck, wo er bis 2013 spielte. Mit Sturm wurde Feldhofer drei Mal Meister und gewann zwei Mal den Ăśsterreichischen Cup. Auch dreizehn Einsätze im Ăśsterreichischen Nationalteam mit einem Tor hat er zu verzeichnen.
Auf der Trainerbank sitzt der Inhaber eine UEFA Pro Lizenz seit 2015. Vier Jahre lang coachte er den SV Lafnitz aus der 1500-Seelen-Gemeinde im Bezirk FĂźrstenfeld und fĂźhrte den Provinzklub in die zweite Ăśsterreichische Liga. Ebenfalls erfolgreich war Feldhofer auf seinem zweiten Trainerposten beim Kärntner Wolfsberger AC: er kam mit dem WAC 2019/20 auf Platz 3 der Bundesliga hinter Rapid und Salzburg und Ăźberstand in der Folgesaison die Europa League-Gruppenphase. Gegen Tottenham schied der WAC dann aber mit einem Gesamtscore von 1:8 aus und in der Liga waren die Leistungen in der Saison 2020/21, wohl wegen der Doppelbelastung durch den Europacup, weniger toll. Dazu hatte Feldhofer auch mit WAC-Kapitän Michael Liendl (damals 35) immer wieder Differenzen. Als diese eskalierten, berĂźcksichtigte er Liendl und zwei weitere FĂźhrungsspieler des WAC Anfang März dieses Jahres nicht im Cupspiel gegen den LASK. Das Match ging verloren und Feldhofer trat am nächsten Tag zurĂźck, ihm folgte der Deutsche Robin Dutt. Bei Rapid sind die ältesten Spieler derzeit 31 und sicher pflegeleichter als Liendl ⌠Da sollte es also hoffentlich keine âAutoritätsproblemeâ geben.
âDass Feldhofer eine grĂźn-weiĂe Vergangenheit als Spieler hat und dadurch auch sehr gut weiĂ, wie unser doch spezieller Verein tickt, ist ein schĂśner Nebenaspekt, war aber fĂźr die Entscheidung kein ausschlaggebendes Kriteriumâ, erklärt BariĹĄiÄ und ergänzt: âIch bin Ăźberzeugt, dass wir mit Ferdinand Feldhofer die bestmĂśgliche Wahl getroffen haben und freue mich auf die Zusammenarbeit, die mĂśglichst langfristig sein soll, obwohl mir bewusst ist, dass er auch jetzt schon Alternativen im europäischen Ausland gehabt hätte. Umso schĂśner ist es, dass wir nun gemeinsam an die kommenden Herausforderungen herangehen kĂśnnen.âÂ
Feldhofer wird kßnftig wie bereits bei seinen Tätigkeiten beim SV Lafnitz und beim WAC mit Matthias Urlesberger zusammenarbeiten. Der 35-jährige, derzeit Cheftrainer bei der U16 des GAK, wird als zusätzlicher Co-Trainer an Bord kommen und somit Manfred Nastl nachfolgen. Der weitere Trainerstab bleibt mit Thomas Hickersberger (Co-Trainer), Jßrgen Macho (Tormanntrainer), Alexander Steinbichler (Athletiktrainer), Tony Prßnster (Reha- und Individualtrainer) und Daniel Seper (Videoanalyst und zudem Assistenztrainer) unverändert.
Ferdinand Feldhofer auf der Rapid-Hompage zu seiner neuen Aufgabe: âEs fĂźhlt sich richtig gut an, es ist eine RĂźckkehr in eine vertraute Umgebung. Nach intensiven Gesprächen mit den Rapid-FĂźhrungskräften war fĂźr mich sehr rasch klar, dass wir im FuĂball-Denken total auf einer Wellenlänge sind. Ich kann es kaum erwarten meine Spieler persĂśnlich kennenzulernen und mit ihnen am Platz und darĂźber hinaus zu arbeiten.â
Snow in the City
It has started snowing on Sunday afternoon in Manchester where Man City hosts West Ham in a match between the third and the fourth placed teams of the Premier League.
The match of Claret and Blue vs. Light Blue can go ahead despite of the snowfall, while in Burnley – situated only one hour north of Manchester – the Claretsâ game against Tottenham Hotspur at Turf Moor had to be postponed because of heavy snow. Referee Peter Bankes said that Burnley âworked as hard as they could but within 10 minutes the pitch was covered again.”
In snowy Manchester the hosts have taken the lead against the Hammers in the 33rd minute, then Johnson saves on the line⌠but also West Ham tries its luck on the break, and the pitch in Manchester becomes white as more and more snow falls in Manchester.
1-0 at the interval – and a bunch of groundsmen rush onto the pitch with their snow shovels!
After having a walk with the dog in the Vienna snow, Iâm back with 58 minutes on the clock. But it takes until the 78th minute until I can take note of West Hamâs first attempt on goal in the second half: a shot from Declan Rice from outside the box is saved by City keeper Ederson.
Then Iâm able to watch two more goals: unfortunately itâs 2-0 first and, much too late with the very last kick of the game, Lanzini scores the 1-2. Only a consolation for David Moyesâs men and the travelling fans, but really a beauty of a goal, that’s for sure!
Two defeats in the last two Premier League games for West Ham on the road. For the first time since April the east Londoners suffer successive defeats in the league, but the Hammers remain fourth, though with Arsenal now level on points. Now a home game is coming up in midweek and another one on the Saturday after three away matches: Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea FC will be the visitors at London Stadium.
Erste Bundesliga-Niederlage fĂźr RBS
Peter Pacult, letzter Rapid-Meistertrainer 2008 und danach eine Zeitlang selbst im Dosen-Imperium von Red Bull in Leipzig tätig, hat mit Austria Klagenfurt geschafft, was vorher in dieser Saison in Ăsterreich noch nicht gelungen ist: die Bullen vlg. Dosen aus Sbg zu schlagen. 2:1 gewann die Klagenfurter Austria im schĂśnsten Stadium Ăsterreichs, am WĂśrthersee, leider Lockdown-bedingt ohne Zuschauer.
Matchbericht: https://www.skaustriaklagenfurt.at/news/21-pacult-team-biegt-meister-salzburg-1853
Hier die Pressekonferenz: Pezi Pacult, wie er leibt und lebt (âkein Grund zum Herzumtanzen, nur drei PunkteâŚâ):
Wales vs Austria in World Cup Play-offs
Wales will host Austria on March 24th next year in the play-off semi-final for the 2022 World Cup, while Scotland have been drawn at home to Ukraine.
The winning sides of these matches will face each other in a final for a spot in Qatar with the winner of Wales v Austria playing at home.
Wales are bidding to reach their first World Cup in 64 years, while Scotland and Austria have waited 24 years to play in one. Austria are in the play-offs courtesy of winning their Nations League group ahead of Norway, Romania and Northern Ireland.
There are three different one leg play-offs, that will determine the three teams to take the final spots. The semis include Italy v North Macedonia and Portugal at home to Turkey. That draw means either European champions Italy or Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will not be at the World Cup, with the winners of their semis meeting in a final.
The third final will be played between the winners of Russia v Poland and Sweden v Czech Republic.
The semifinals and the finals, both played over one leg, will take place over the course of five days from 24-29 March.
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