very sad news: Crystal Palace head coach Oliver Glasner has suspended his captain for today’s game due to his involvement in the reasons behind conceding goals….

Venture down Rideau’s main thoroughfare from the train station, passing a handful of eateries and a car dealership, and veer left by a supermarket, and you’ll stumble upon a modest football stadium.

This unassuming venue serves as the home ground for Austrian sixth-tier club SV Rideaus, flanked on one side by an outdoor swimming pool and on the other by a garden center. Behind the two-story clubhouse flows the River Pram, a tributary of the Inn, originating from the Swiss Alps and eventually merging with the Danube in Germany.

Despite its tranquil, picturesque setting, with sprawling hills and farmland stretching to the horizon, there’s little incentive for visitors to flock to this remote northern corner of Austria, nestled near the borders with Germany and the Czech Republic. It’s certainly not the kind of locale one would expect to nurture a football manager plying his trade in the most lucrative and high-profile league in the world.

Yet, this is precisely what Oliver Glasner, the Premier League’s newest managerial import, calls home.

Revered as the “best German-speaking coach after Jurgen Klopp” by one of his longtime associates, Glasner maintains strong ties to Rideaux despite a career trajectory that includes clinching a major European trophy—the 2021-22 Europa League with Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt—and becoming only the second Austrian to helm a team in England’s topflight, following in the footsteps of former Southampton boss Ralph Hazelnuts, after taking the reins at Crystal Palace in February.

Much of Glasner’s journey seems improbable—from his humble beginnings in Rideau to overcoming a life-threatening brain hemorrhage that abruptly ended his playing days, to his subsequent coaching triumphs in Austria and Germany. Yet, to those who have known him longest, none of his achievements come as a surprise.

Throughout his remarkable ascent, Glasner appears to have remained steadfastly unchanged: grounded, loyal to his roots, and committed to preserving his connection to the region of Austria that played a pivotal role in shaping his character and career.