Historic season for Austria's serial champions
Tue, 24/11/2020, 07:00
Salzburg profiled: Everything you need to know
Bayern can book their place in the knockout stage of the Champions League on Wednesday if they beat Red Bull Salzburg at home on Wednesday. fcbayern.com takes a closer look at the neighbouring Austrians.
First time through the qualifiers
Salzburg’s joy was reflected in centre-back Andre Ramalho as they beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-1 in the play-off second leg. They had already won the first leg 2-1 in Israel to give them a platform to progress to the group stage.
Red Bull Salzburg made history this season as they made it through the qualifying rounds of the Champions League for the first time at the 11th attempt. It sees the Austrians feature in the group stage for the second straight year, with the domestic champions having qualified automatically last season. In total, it’s their third Champions League campaign proper (also 1994/95), although they have never advanced beyond the group stage. This season, Die Roten Bullen have started with a 2-2 draw at home to Lokomotiv Moscow and a 3-2 defeat at Atletico Madrid. On both occasions they threw away a lead, but Jesse Marsch’s side proved in Spain that they can compete with some of Europe’s biggest teams. Salzburg also went ahead in the first clash with FCB but ultimately couldn't resist the Bavarian firepower and went down to a 6-2 defeat.
Setback in the league
After winning their first six games of the league campaign, Salzburg dropped points for the first time two weeks ago in their top-of-the-table clash with Rapid Vienna (1-0). Marsch's side then suffered their first defeat of the domestic season at the weekend as the champions went down 3-1 at home to Sturm Graz. However, RB still lead the Austrian Bundesliga by two points ahead of LASK and Rapid.
Attacking showpiece
Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai is seen as one of the most promising young players in the team. He could follow the likes of Sadio Mane, Naby Keita (both Liverpool) or Erling Haaland (Dortmund) by using Salzburg as a springboard to one of Europe’s top clubs.
Salzburg have scored 26 goals across their opening eight league games this season. Sekou Koita is the main danger man in their usual 4-4-2 system. He's supplied by 20-year-old Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai, who has also struck twice in the Champions League. Salzburg’s problem in Europe, though, is their defence, having already conceded 11 goals in the opening three games.
First visit to the Allianz
The meeting in Salzburg was the first in any competition between the clubs. It means Wednesday's game in Munich is RB's first visit to the Allianz Arena.
Austria’s serial champions
Salzburg have been constant contenders for the title in Austria ever since Red Bull took over the club.
In 2005, Red Bull took over Austria Salzburg and renamed the club FC Red Bull Salzburg. Since then they have dominated Austrian football and have won the league for the last seven years. The club boast a total of 14 Bundesliga titles, which is third behind Vienna clubs Rapid (32) and Austria (24), and have won the cup six times. Success has eluded them in Europe, though. In 1994, they lost the UEFA Cup final against Inter Milan 2-0 on aggregate. Due to UEFA rules on branding, the club is known as FC Salzburg in continental competition. The Austrian champions play their home games at the Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, which has a capacity of around 30,000.
Check out five facts ahead of the return fixture in Munich:
Topics of this article