Soccer
The young and the wild: how Red Bull Salzburg joined the European elite
Red Bull Salzburg will contest the biggest match in their history when they take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Here’s how their journey to elite level European football has played out.
Ten long weeks since Noah Okafor’s strike against Seville sent Red Bull Salzburg into the knockout stages of the Champions League, Bayern Munich are finally making the short trip over the border to the Red Bull Arena.
While the German giants might be favourites, Matthias Jaissle’s team have shown no fear this season and – with an average age of just 23 – they are full of the kind of young talent that's earned the club a reputation for being one of the world’s best when it comes to finding and developing truly outstanding players.
On the field, the likes of Noah Okafor, Karim Adeyemi, Luka Sučić, Brenden Aaronson and Benjamin Šeško will be among those eager to shine on the biggest club stage.
On the touchline, meanwhile, will be the two youngest coaches in the competition with Jaissle, 33, coming up against former RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann, 34. With both coaches favouring a positive and aggressive style of play the prospect of the two clubs facing off is a tantalising one.
Liverpool star Sadio Mané scored 31 times in 63 matches for Salzburg
© Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images
It’s also something fans of Red Bull Salzburg have waited a long time for though with the 11 dramatic near-misses in the qualifying rounds still a distant memory.
Ahead of the fixture, we look back on seven milestone moments from the club’s memorable adventures into European football.
01
2009/10:
The club reach the knockout stages of the inaugural Europa League after winning all six matches in a group that included Lazio and Villarreal. It’s close, but they lose 3-2 on aggregate to Standard Liège in the round of 32.
Naby Keïta became Austrian Bundesliga Player of the Year while at Salzburg
© Adam Pretty/Getty Images
02
2013/14:
In their first full European campaign since Ralf Rangnick took over as sporting director and with Roger Schmidt as coach, Salzburg impress in the Europa League with the ‘Gegenpressing’ and quick transitions that have become their hallmark.
They storm through the group stage with a 100 percent record, scoring 15 goals and conceding three. Then they outclass Ajax Amsterdam 6-1 on aggregate in the round of 32. "We're used to building up the play from the back, but they made it almost impossible. We lost every 50-50 ball and they tactically outplayed us,” said Ajax defender Niklas Moisander. The run ends in the next round against FC Basel.
Current Man Utd boss Ralf Rangnick brought his style to Salzburg in 2012
© Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
03
2017/18:
Having lost on away goals to Rijeka in the Champions League qualifiers, they subsequently light up the Europa League with knockout stage wins over Borussia Dortmund and Lazio that take them all the way to the semi-finals, where they're eventually beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Olympique Marseille.
04
2018/2019:
An unhappy start to the season sees the club knocked out in the Champions League qualifiers for an 11th time in the most agonising fashion yet. Despite being 2-0 ahead against Red Star Belgrade in the return leg with half an hour to play, two goals in quick succession give the Serbian champions a 2-2 draw and an away goals win.
There’s a happy ending to the season, however. Their performances help raise Austria in the UEFA coefficients and the country wins an automatic slot in the Champions League group stage for the following season, which Red Bull Salzburg take by winning the Bundesliga title.
Erling Haaland scored 16 goals in 17 games for Red Bull Salzburg
© Koji Watanabe/Getty Images
05
2019/2020:
Finally there, they're plunged into the same group as Liverpool and Napoli, but under the charismatic leadership of Jesse Marsch, the first American to coach a team in the competition, they certainly make an impression as 19-year-old Haaland is unleashed on an unsuspecting world.
The Norwegian scores a first-half hat-trick as they race to a 4-1 half time lead against Genk in their first game before going on to win 6-2. Their second match, away to Liverpool, sees them nearly pull off one of the most remarkable comebacks in the competition's history. Having gone 3-0 down in only 36 minutes, Salzburg stun the Anfield crowd by pulling it back to 3-3 by the hour – only to lose out to Mohamed Salah's second goal of the game.
More thrilling games follow and despite coming up narrowly short they still finish as top-scorers in the group with 16 goals.
06
2020/21:
Another difficult draw pits them against Bayern Munich, Atlético Madrid and Lokomotiv Moscow and, once again, there's no shortage of excitement. Salzburg take stunning early leads in matches against the German and Spanish powerhouses, but eventually go down fighting and take their place in the Europa League, only to lose to eventual champions Villarreal.
Jesse Marsch led the club to league and cup doubles in back-to-back seasons
© GEPA pictures/ Walter Luger
07
2021/22:
A draw away to Sevilla followed by home wins against Lille and VfL Wolfsburg in their first three games put Salzburg on the brink of qualifying. However, single-goal defeats away to the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 sides leave them needing a point at home to Sevilla to qualify. But they overcome the nerves when Noah Okafor's second-half goal gives them a 1-0 win and a place in the last 16.