Legendary trainer Krueger has Parkinson’s: “The disease is incurable”

Krueger was also active as a coach in Austria and ensured one of the greatest triumphs in Austrian ice hockey when he won the European Hockey League with VEU Feldkirch in 1998 – the league was comparable to the UEFA Champions League at the time. He was chairman of the supervisory board of the Bundesliga soccer club Wiener Austria until January 2026.

“The disease is incurable. That’s one reason why I withdrew even more from the public,” explains Krueger. “This is the first time I’ve talked about it. It’s a big step for me.” Exact predictions about the course of the disease are not possible, but the symptoms can be alleviated, for example with exercise.

Little by little, through “very good care and my family, he learned to accept that this illness is now part of me.” But he can control how he reacts to it.

Ice hockey & football

Krueger, who also worked in the NHL as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabers and in football as chairman of the supervisory board of Austria (November 2023 to January 2026) and Southampton (2014 to 2019), has remained closely connected to ice hockey. He has tickets for all of the Swiss national team’s games at the upcoming home World Cup in Zurich. Nothing has influenced him as much as his work as a national coach.

The ÖFB men’s national team also relied on his expertise – among other things, he held a motivational workshop with the ÖFB players during the 2024 European Championships in Berlin. The multiple champion coach of VEU Feldkirch also paid a visit to Ralf Rangnick’s soccer team during the preparation in Windischgarsten.