A few days after missing out on qualifying for the World Cup, Franco Foda announced his resignation as boss of the Austrian national soccer team.
The 55-year-old German said at a press conference that he took full responsibility for the failure. So his 48th international match this Tuesday against Scotland will be his last.
“I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few days. I finally made my decision yesterday evening. It was still rumored that I might have had the option of extending my contract. But that didn’t matter to me anymore, because I took responsibility for it”, Foda.
In the current situation, the most important thing is that calm returns. He informed the team of his decision on Monday morning, it was very emotional.
“It was a great honor for me to coach and work with this team,” said Foda. “It was four and a half great years. My successor can look forward to a team with impeccable character that is good and has a lot of potential for development.”
Austria plays strong EM under Foda
The Austrians missed out on participating in the World Cup in Qatar in late autumn after beating Wales 2-1 on Thursday evening. Foda’s contract would have ended on March 31 due to the failure. He took over the team in autumn 2017 as successor to Marcel Koller.
Under him, the ÖFB selection managed, among other things, the first win in a European Championship finals last summer. But Austria has been waiting for World Cup participation since 1998. ÖFB President Gerhard Milletich announced after the World Cup that a decision should be made on the position of team boss and, if necessary, a successor to Foda by the end of April at the latest.
Foda has won 27 of his 47 games so far. Only Hugo Meisl had more wins at 71. But in the past four and a half years, Foda has not won a competitive match against a team that is ahead of Austria in the world rankings.