Crystal Palace are on the verge of appointing Adi Hutter as their new manager with Rheindorf Altach boss Klaus Schmidt set to follow.
The Eagles have brought back Roy Hodgson as an interim manager following the sacking of Patrick Vieira.
That has at least given Palace some time to find a longer-term solution and it looks like Hutter is their man.
Austrian newspaper Kurier claim that Hutter is on the verge of becoming the new Palace boss ahead of the 2023-24 season.
It’s stated that Hutter’s assistant has already been picked out ahead of his move to Selhurst Park.
Rheindorf Altach boss Klaus Schmidt is allegedly following Hutter to South London, trading a top-flight managerial job in Austria for an assistant role in the Premier League.
Who is Crystal Palace-bound Klaus Schmidt?
Palace fans will be asking the same question today – who on earth is Klaus Schmidt?
Hutter may be familiar to some after his spells in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Schmidt is a lesser-known coach though and Eagles supporters will want to know all about him.
Schmidt didn’t have much of a playing career to speak about; Transfermarkt’s records show that he only played for Thorl, LUV Graz, FC Zeltweg and SC Weiz in Austria’s lower leagues.
A former midfielder, Schmidt was finished with his playing career by 25 and turned to coaching.
After a stint in charge of Nachwuchsmodell Kapfenberg in his early 30’s, Schmidt became a prominent assistant coach.
Schmidt worked with Grazer AK before a move to Austria Karnten, where he stepped up from assistant to manager in 2007.
Schmidt went back to being an assistant with Wiener Neustadt, Bahrain, Al Wahda and Austria Under-21’s.
Since 2012 though, Schmidt has focused entirely on being a manager in his own right.
SV Kapfenberg, SV Austria Salzburg, Wacker Innsbruck, Blau-Weiss Linz, Rheindorf Altach, SV Mattersburgh, Admira Wacker (twice), TSV Hartberg… Schmidt has been something of a journeyman manager in the Austrian scene.
Rheindorf Altach took another chance on Schmidt last month and he has only managed three games in his second spell there.
Schmidt is already being lined up for a move to Palace though, heading back to an assistant role.
In 2022, Schmidt spoke on Austrian TV about his friendship with Hutter and it looks like the Austrian duo are set to reunite at Palace very soon.
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