From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rapid Wien, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Ricardo Rodríguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rapid Wien have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market7 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rapid Wien, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Petter Nosa Dahl and Rapid Wien agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Niklas Hedl is the hero from the spot
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Niklas Hedl: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match30 Nov 2026
Rapid Wien are in real trouble now
Position 8, 17 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Rapid Wien may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Ricardo Rodríguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 152% of everything Rapid Wien earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Martin Ndzie
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match21 Nov 2026
The derby belongs to Rapid Wien
3‑0 against Austria Wien, and the songs went on long after the whistle. League positions come and go; days like this get retold at family dinners for years.
Market23 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rapid Wien, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Rapid Wien may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Beat anybody else and it is three points. Beat them and it is a story a city tells for a decade. Rapid Wien have their man.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A one-man rearguard from Niklas Hedl
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rapid Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Nobody could get near Jonas Auer
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market23 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Petter Nosa Dahl signs something — a contract at Rapid Wien or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market16 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rapid Wien, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Niklas Hedl, and the manager let it.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rapid Wien, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Rapid Wien may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rapid Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match7 Nov 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Petter Nosa Dahl’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Rapid Wien.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Marked 8.49 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match31 Oct 2026
12 matches without a win for Rapid Wien
The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Rapid Wien are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match2 Nov 2026
Rapid Wien are in real trouble now
Position 9, 10 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market2 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Ricardo Rodríguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 152% of everything Rapid Wien earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Grégoire Defrel will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Oct 2026
11 matches without a win for Rapid Wien
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Rapid Wien are no longer polite ones.
Market26 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rapid Wien, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rapid Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match24 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ricardo Rodríguez, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.58, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad26 Oct 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Niklas Hedl knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Rapid Wien
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market19 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rapid Wien, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Ricardo Rodríguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Jakob Schöller, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A mark of 7.81, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
The spotlight tightens on Niklas Hedl
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 39. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match10 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Rapid Wien's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Rapid Wien has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Market12 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rapid Wien, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rapid Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Marked 7.76 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Rapid Wien had the best player on the pitch.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
“I did not go to CSKA 1948 to sit and watch. I want to come back to Rapid Wien and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Oct 2026
Every point is an argument now for Rapid Wien
Position 10 and 7 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match3 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Rapid Wien
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market5 Oct 2026
Ercan Kara hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rapid Wien can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
221% of the income goes out in wages at Rapid Wien
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Niklas Hedl, and the manager let it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Yusuf Demir and Rapid Wien agree another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market28 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rapid Wien, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Rapid Wien's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Rapid Wien has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rapid Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Janis Antiste, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 8.25 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match26 Sep 2026
It needed Grégoire Defrel to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Grodig, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Matthias Seidl knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matthias Seidl trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Shots: 5, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Sep 2026
Derby day misery for Rapid Wien
Losing 1‑3 is one thing; losing to Austria Wien in a derby is a wound that takes months to close.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match19 Sep 2026
6 matches without a win for Rapid Wien
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Rapid Wien are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Ricardo Rodríguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bendegúz Bolla, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Matthias Seidl knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Rapid Wien, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Sep 2026
The longest week starts now for Rapid Wien
Beaten 0‑2 by Red Bull Salzburg in the one fixture that is never just a fixture. Work, school, the corner shop — there will be no getting away from this one.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 38. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A one-man rearguard from Niklas Hedl
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Rapid Wien's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Rapid Wien has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rapid Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Michael Ortega knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Rapid Wien, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match7 Sep 2026
Every point is an argument now for Rapid Wien
Position 8 and 5 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market7 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Rapid Wien, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match5 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Rapid Wien
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Rapid Wien are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ricardo Rodríguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sergi Guardiola, and the manager let it.
Match5 Sep 2026
Altach left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Wages eat 124% of everything Rapid Wien earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rapid Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market31 Aug 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Rapid Wien will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Janis Antiste asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
Everybody has an opinion about Niklas Hedl
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market24 Aug 2026
Of all the clubs to come calling. Rapid Wien would sooner sell to anybody else, and the supporters have already made their feelings plain.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Ercan Kara
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.31 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market24 Aug 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Benjamin Göschl has his answer from Rapid Wien; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market17 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer from Dynamo Kyiv for Paul Gartler was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rapid Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match15 Aug 2026
Sturm Graz left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad17 Aug 2026
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Rapid Wien know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A mark of 3.97 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Market17 Aug 2026
At 36, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market10 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao and Rapid Wien agree another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rapid Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match8 Aug 2026
A 3‑2 win over SV Ried, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.28 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.26 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Niklas Hedl gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.22 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market10 Aug 2026
No place for Jonas Auer in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jonas Auer has his answer from Rapid Wien; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer from Grasshopper for Yusuf Demir was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Niklas Hedl and Rapid Wien agree another 4 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rapid Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Janis Antiste
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.52 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Market3 Aug 2026
49 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.