Image: Press photo Scharinger / Daniel Scharinger
An era is coming to an end at the Landesliga West club SK Schärding: Bernhard Straif is retiring as a coach after four years. It was actually planned that the 54-year-old would not leave the club until the summer – before the 1-0 defeat in Gmunden, Straif surprisingly resigned from his coaching position in Schärding with immediate effect.
“He informed me that he no longer had the motivation and would stop immediately. After we had a great start to the spring, I was very surprised,” says Schärding’s sports director Andreas Michl. Before the defeat against Gmunden, Schärding scored ten points in four games, was only six points behind leader Bad Schallerbach after losing points, so they were still in the title race, which is why the timing of the premature end seems all the more curious. “It was a decision that matured in me for a long time. After it became clear that the club and I would go our separate ways in the summer anyway, I was just out of breath,” Straif explains his sudden departure. His successor has already been determined: While assistant coach Thomas Froschauer and 1b coach Siegfried Krieg will take over on an interim basis until the end of the season, the German Holger Stemplinger will be hired in the summer.
Kuranda leaves Admira
There will also be a change of coach in the east in the summer after four years: Stefan Kuranda will leave his hometown club Admira Linz – in the last round 0: 2 against Oedt 1b – and take a break for the time being, as the 51-year-old reveals: “I was Combat team coach continuously since 2011. That’s a long time, I have to recharge my batteries.”
Source: Nachrichten
