Red Bull Salzburg have finally
experienced their Champions
League dream. After long years
of unsuccessfully trying to get into
the group stage of Europe’s most
prestigious club competition,
there was talk of a “curse”.
While Salzburg dominated the
Austrian Bundesliga – winning12
of the last15 league titles – it took
until2019fortheteamtogetinto
the groups. When it comes to the
club’s philosophy, though, there
was always a belief that Salzburg
were doing something right.
The proof came in 2021-22,
when they advanced to the last16
of the Champions League, bringing
a clash against Bayern Munich, a
superclub just across the German
border. After earning a1-1 draw in
Austria, Salzburg hoped for a big
surprise, but lost the return leg 7-1.
But one heavy defeat doesn’t
undermine the progress that the
club has made over the last decade.
Austrian energy drinks giant
Red Bull bought the club in 2005,
radically changing the face of football
in the country. After establishing
themselves as the dominant local
power, Salzburg hatched an even
more ambitious plan: to break
through with a unique strategy.
Salzburg developed one of the
most successful transfer policies
in world football, one that would
serve as an inspiration to others –
particularly clubs outside the top five
European leagues. Alongside the likes
of Porto and Ajax, Salzburg earned
a reputation as a talent factory.
Some sections of Austrian football
supporters don’t accept the club for
its financial backing by Red Bull or
relationship with RB Leipzig. Yet
Salzburg have undoubtedly found
a clear philosophy both on and off
AUSTRIARed Bull giving
young players wings
Lukas Vrablikreports
eye
witness
the pitch. They serve as a springboard
for talents from around the world to
the top leagues, and, at the same
time, the winning doesn’t stop.
The list of players to emerge at
Salzburg before moving on to bigger
leagues is extensive. Borussia Dortmund
striker Erling Haaland and Liverpool ace
Sadio Mane are the most obvious, high-
profile examples. Yet they are far from
unique: Mane’s Anfield team-mates
Naby Keita and Takumi Minamino
made their names in Salzburg, as did
Patson Daka (Leicester City), Enock
Mwepu (Brighton), Dayot Upamecano
and Marcel Sabitzer (both Bayern), Duje
Caleta-Car (Marseille), Mu’nas Dabbur
(Hoffenheim) and
Dominik Szoboszlai
(Leipzig). Over the
past decade, the
strategy has been
clear: find talents
and give them
a chance.
At the start of
the Red Bull era, the approach
was quite different. Salzburg relied
on experienced players and coaches,
such as Giovanni Trapattoni. That
changed in 2012, when revolutionary
German coach Ralf Rangnick became
sporting director of both Salzburg and
Leipzig. Thanks to the recruitment of
young players, their development, and
an attacking tactical system, both clubs
broke through into European football.
In 2016, Christoph Freund became
Salzburg’s new sporting director, having
worked across the club’s structure for
the previous ten years. “We began to
change the club’s philosophy in 2012.
FC Red Bull Salzburg were successful
in Austria before then, but relied more
on experienced players,” he tellsWorld
Soccer. “We are now the youngest team
in the Champions League group stage
with an average age of around 22. Atthe start, a lot of people didn’t
understand our new strategy and what
we were doing, or were dissatisfied.
There was a lot we had to do at many
levels inside and outside of the club to
convince people of our work. We now
attract great respect for what we do.
“We know though that it can’t always
get better and better, and we will have
years when we will struggle a bit. But
we are100 per cent convinced and
will not move from our way and our
clear philosophy of doing things.”
Salzburg has a connection to
football schools on all continents
and a broad scouting network.
After identifying young talents, they
have sufficient finances and the
infrastructure to bring them in. As
countless examples show, Salzburg
know how it’s necessary to prepare
these talents for the biggest games.The list of players to emerge at Salzburg before
moving on to bigger leagues is extensive. Borussia
Dortmund’s Erling Haaland and Liverpool’s Sadio
Mane are the most obvious, high-profile examples