Kühbauer slaps Fountas
Emotional scenes in Hütteldorf! Rapid won against Wolfsberg 3-0, coach Kühbauer slapped triple goalscorer Fountas anyway. What is the reason?
One thing is certain: Fountas has nothing to blame. With his triple pack (22nd, 52nd, 53rd) he shot the green-whites single-handedly to 3-0 against the WAC. After their first win of the season, Rapid has four points and climbed to sixth place in the Bundesliga table. Also for the second leg in the third qualifying round for the Europa League against Famagusta (first leg: 3-0) gives the self-confidence.
But why did Fountas receive a juicy slap in the face from coach Didi Kühbauer when he was substituted in the 58th minute? “He knows what it's about. Only the two of us know that, we have a good relationship,” said the Rapid coach. In any case, Fountas did not take the attack personally, the Watsche acknowledged with a smile.
Kühbauer explains his curious measure with pedagogical reasons: “He's a player who often gets in his own way. He has incredible abilities. But if something doesn't work, he often throws the gun in the grain. If it doesn't work, he's out two meters from an apple tree. He's sometimes his greatest enemy, I want to be his best friend. “
Kühbauer is not the best friend when it comes to video referee. The VAR did not give the supposed 1-0 through Arase in the 16th minute – because of a foul earlier. After the actual 1-0 win by Fountas, things got emotional on the Rapid bench. Like his assistants, Kühbauer saw yellow.
“My coaching team are my friends and my colleagues. I didn't notice that everyone else got a yellow”, grinned Kühbauer after the game. Postscript: “The VAR rules are still a bit half-baked.” He demands further development from his team when it comes to the first 20 minutes. “We won't always get over it like that. But overall it was a good game considering that we whistle out of the last hole.”
