Northern Ireland v Austria

Words Liam Blackburn

AUSTRIA THE COACH Heading into this international break no manager in Austria's history – not even the great Hugo Meisl or Ernst Happel - had a better win percentage than Franco Foda, the current man at the helm.

Foda won 15 of his first 24 games in charge since being appointed three years ago, giving him a win percentage of 62.5%. Austria have already beaten Uruguay, Russia, Germany, Sweden, Northern Ireland and Norway so far under Foda. He left his job at Austrian Bundesliga club Sturm Graz to take the international post in October 2017, succeeding Marcel Koller after the Swiss coach’s six years in charge was brought to an end as Austria missed out on a place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Foda is the first German to coach Austria and was initially considered as a contender for the post in 2011, only for the national federation to opt for Koller instead. "He is someone who holds good qualifications. He knows Austrian football as a player and a coach," Austrian Football Federation president Leo Windtner said of Foda upon his hiring. He enjoyed coaching success with Graz, leading them to the Austrian Bundesliga title in 2011, having won the domestic cup the season before. Foda spent the 2012-13 campaign back in Germany in charge of Kaiserslautern, where he had two stints as a player, though he soon returned to Graz after failing to win promotion back to the Bundesliga. He left Graz at the top of the table when Austria came calling in 2017 and he had a win percentage

of over 50% during his most recent stint in charge of the club. Austria were 39th in the FIFA world rankings when Foda was appointed and, thanks in part to their qualification for Euro 2020, they had risen to 27th in the most recent rankings. Foda has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 formation while in charge of Austria and has typically deployed the versatile Bayern Munich man David Alaba on the left-hand side of the attacking midfield trident. » Foda began his playing career in his native country and he was handed two caps for West Germany in 1987 when the great Franz Beckenbauer was their coach. » As a player he spent most of his time in Germany, playing for Kaiserslautern, Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart and winning two domestic cups. » After a short spell in Switzerland with Basel, he ended his playing days with Sturm Graz and then went into coaching with the Austrian club in 2001. » His son, Sandro, played for Graz when his father was manager between 2007 and 2012 and has already followed his dad into the coaching world.

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