Hans Krankl

Johann "Hans" Krankl (; born 14 February 1953) is an Austrian former professional footballer. A prolific striker, he is regarded by many as one of Austria's greatest players.

Club career

Krankl started his professional career at Rapid Wien and stayed there for 8 years, apart from a year at Wiener AC. He won the European Golden Boot at Rapid Wien in 1978, attracting the interest of Barcelona. His spell at Barcelona was successful, winning the European Cup Winners' Cup (scoring in the final itself), and picking up the top goalscorer's award in La Liga that season with 29 goals. He returned to Rapid Wien in 1981, captaining the side and again scoring over 100 goals for them over the next 5 years. He played a major part in the most successful of Rapid teams in the 1980s, claiming the League crown twice, in 1982 and 1983, and three consecutive Austrian cup titles. He scored Rapid's only goal in the 3–1 loss in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final in 1985 against Everton. In 1986, he moved to become player-manager at Wiener Sport-Club.

Krankl was named Austrian Player of the Year a record five times, He earned 69 caps, scoring 34 goals. His final international game was an April 1985 World Cup qualification match against Hungary. In the 1978–79 season of the Spanish Primera División, he was the top goalscorer with 29 goals for Barcelona and was awarded the Pichichi Trophy.

In a match against Malta in 1977, Krankl scored six goals as Austria ran out 9–0 winners.

One of his major achievements was helping Austria qualify for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, the first time Austria had qualified for the World Cup in twenty years.

Managerial career

Since ending his playing career at Austria Salzburg in 1989, Krankl has worked as a football manager and coach. He was employed by the Austria national team. He was sacked on 28 September 2005 after Austria failed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was also manager of LASK Linz.

He has also intermittently featured as a studio guest and co-commentator on Austrian public service broadcaster ORF.

Musical career Krankl has also enjoyed domestic success with his music, with several releases entering the Austrian charts. His biggest musical success was the single "Lonely Boy", released in 1985 and peaking at number 2.

Career statistics Club

International Scores and results list Austria's goal tally first. + List of international goals scored by Hans Krankl No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 27 March 1974 De Kuip, Rotterdam 1–0 1–1 Friendly 2. 4 September 1974 Praterstadion, Vienna 2–1 2–1 Euro 1976 qualifier 3. 28 September 1974 Praterstadion, Vienna 1–0 1–0 Friendly 4. 16 March 1975 Stade Municipal, Luxembourg 2–1 2–1 Euro 1976 qualifier 5. 24 September 1975 Népstadion, Budapest 1–2 1–2 Euro 1976 qualifier 6. 15 October 1975 Praterstadion, Vienna 2–2 6–2 Euro 1976 qualifier 7. 5–2 8. 22 September 1976 Linzer Stadion, Linz 1–0 3–1 Friendly 9. 13 October 1976 Praterstadion, Vienna 1–2 4–2 Friendly 10. 2–2 11. 10 November 1976 Anthi Karagianni Stadium, Kavala 2–0 3–0 Friendly 12. 5 December 1976 Empire Stadium, Gżira 1–0 1–0 1978 World Cup qualifier 13. 15 December 1976 National Stadium, Ramat Gan 3–1 3–1 Friendly 14. 30 April 1977 Stadion Lehen, Salzburg 1–0 9–0 1978 World Cup qualifier 15. 2–0 16. 3–0 17. 4–0 18. 6–0 19. 8–0 20. 24 August 1977 Praterstadion, Vienna 2–0 2–1 Friendly 21. 15 February 1978 Nea Filadelfeia Stadium, Athens 1–1 1–1 Friendly 22. 3 June 1978 José Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires 2–1 2–1 1978 World Cup 23. 7 June 1978 José Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires 1–0 1–0 1978 World Cup 24. 21 June 1978 Estadio Chateau Carreras, Córdoba 2–1 3–2 1978 World Cup 25. 3–2 26. 30 August 1978 Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo 2–0 2–0 Euro 1980 qualifier 27. 28 March 1979 Parc Astrid, Brussels 1–1 1–1 Euro 1980 qualifier 28. 29 August 1979 Praterstadion, Vienna 4–0 4–0 Euro 1980 qualifier 29. 17 October 1979 Hampden Park, Glasgow 1–0 1–1 Euro 1980 qualifier 30. 15 November 1980 Praterstadion, Vienna 5–0 5–0 1982 World Cup qualifier 31 28 May 1981 Praterstadion, Vienna 1–0 2–0 1982 World Cup qualifier 32. 17 June 1981 Linzer Stadion, Linz 3–0 3–0 1982 World Cup qualifier 33. 24 March 1982 Népstadion, Budapest 1–0 3–2 Friendly 34. 21 June 1982 Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo 2–0 2–0 1982 World Cup

Honours

Club Rapid Wien Austrian Football Bundesliga: 1981–82, 1982–83 Austrian Cup: 1975–76, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85

Barcelona Copa del Rey: 1980–81 European Cup Winners' Cup: 1978–79

Individual Ballon d'Or Silver Ball: 1978 Onze d'Argent: 1978 Onze Mondial: 1978, 1979 Sport Ideal European XI: 1978 Austrian Player of the Year: 1973, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1988 Austrian Bundesliga Top Goalscorer: 1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1982–83 Pichichi Trophy: 1978–79 European Golden Shoe: 1978 Austrian Manager of the Year: 1999