After Michael Sollbauer was relegated with Dynamo Dresden in the relegation against Kaiserslautern from the 2nd German Bundesliga, a change in the summer was fixed. What the sparrows have been whistling from the rooftops is now official. The 32-year-old central defender returns to the Bundesliga after two and a half years abroad and switches to SK Rapid. After ten years at WAC, where he was also a record player for a while, Sollbauer switched to ex-WAC coach Gerhard Struber and Barnsley in England’s second division in January 2020 before he ended up in Dresden for a season.
Now Sollbauer is once again following the call of an ex-trainer. After Struber’s lightning move from Wolfsberg to the island, the current Rapid coach Ferdinand Feldhofer took over the WAC and looked after Sollbauer until the winter break, before he also left. “I’m looking forward to working with ‘Sole’, I only had the pleasure at WAC for a few weeks, but I remembered him as an absolute showcase professional,” Feldhofer Rosen says.
With the routine of 238 Bundesliga games (3 goals, 4 assists), Rapid are also hoping for another leader, thinks highly of the Carinthian, who signed until 2024. Sollbauer himself is passionate about Hütteldorf, as he explains in a club broadcast: “I’m really motivated, I’m looking forward to the new season with great confidence and I can say that the move to Rapid is a small dream come true for me.”
Shopping spree not completed, is “Burgi” coming?
Sollbauer is already the fifth player on the Hütteldorfer shopping spree. As is well known, numerous contracts have expired, such as those of Filip Stojkovic and Srdjan Grahovac, Kelvin Arase, for example, will also leave the club, and Robert Ljubicic may also be a real top performer. Roman Kerschbaum (Admira) should strengthen the depth of the squad, offensive technician Patrick Greil (Austria Klagenfurt) should set the pace, Bayern jewel Nicolas Kühn should finally develop fully in Vienna and Aleksa Pejić (22), who came from Soligorsk, strengthen central midfield , especially if Ljubicic should leave.
Will Guido Burgstaller, a Carinthian, return to his old place of work? The chances seem intact after Rapid’s Transfermarkt competitor Nuremberg recently withdrew the offer.
–
–
