FC Pinzgau Saalfelden ended a varied and intense season with fifth place finish in the Westliga. After a mixed start to the past season, Markus Fürstaller led the team back to its old strength in his coaching comeback. After an impressive run of ten games without defeat – nine of which were won – FCPS not only qualified for the Westliga in the spring, but also punched their ticket early for the 2023/24 Regionalliga West and the ÖFB Cup.
After a few successful months, Markus Fürstaller is now stepping down again for professional reasons as head coach at the Pinzgauers after just under three quarters of a year. With 39-year-old Hannes Schützinger, who was already installed as sporting director of the ÖFB junior performance center a few weeks ago, the vacant position could now be quickly filled with the desired candidate.
Statements
Board of FC Pinzgau Saalfelden on the appointment of Hannes Schützinger as coach: “We are very happy that we have found a quick and perfect solution. We have created an important foundation in recent months with Markus (note: Fürstaller) and initiated a more than positive development process. We want to continue on this path in the new season. After it became clear that Markus would no longer be available to us in the new season, we evaluated the situation and very quickly came to the conclusion that Hannes Schützinger was the right man for the job. Now there is clarity and we can now fully concentrate on the preparation for the new season.”
Hannes Schützinger, FCPS head coach and sporting director of the ÖFB junior training center: “In the last few days we have had some very good talks. For me, it was quickly clear that I would like to take over the position and rise to the challenge. For me, it’s a great opportunity to develop here. I’m aware that the dual function means a heavy workload awaits me – but I’m definitely ready for it! Last season was very good, and we want to build on that in the coming weeks. We want to change our approach, bring more intensity against the ball and find solutions through positional play. I’m looking forward to my new task and to the start of training at the end of June.”