When the Austrian Football Association’s sporting director, Peter Schöttel, mustered the courage to make perhaps the most important call of his tenure, he was in his car on the motorway, making his way to a game.
It was spring 2022 – and turbulent. Austria had failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, finishing a disappointing fourth behind Denmark, Scotland and Israel. They had another chance through the Nations League playoffs but lost 2-1 to Wales in their semi‑final. The brief euphoria of the delayed Euro 2020, where they were narrowly beaten by the eventual champions, Italy, in the last 16, was long gone. Schöttel needed to take action.
