Brest (foto: Getty Images)
Salzburg has often been a thorn in the side of football giants in recent years, but the start of the new season suggests that last year’s loss of the Austrian throne was far from a fluke.
For a decade, Salzburg dominated Austrian football and built a reputation as a club capable of developing world-class players. Their unique know-how and team-building style also earned them a reputation in the Champions League, where they often proved to be a nuisance even to Europe’s strongest clubs.
While the recruitment, selection, and development processes in Salzburg haven’t changed much, the results have, and they aren’t something the biggest Austrian club of the modern era can be proud of. Last season, Sturm claimed the Austrian throne, and Salzburg has started the new Champions League season with two outright disastrous defeats. In the first round, they suffered a heavy 0-3 defeat away to Sparta Prague, and yesterday, they were shockingly beaten 0-4 at home by Champions League debutants Brest.
Salzburg sits at the bottom of the table with a goal difference of 0:7, and their toughest matches are still ahead.
"We’re not looking for excuses. I try to be polite outwardly, but inside I’m very strict," said Salzburg’s coach Pepijn Lijnders, who spent seven years as part of Jurgen Klopp’s coaching staff at Liverpool before joining Salzburg.
Lijnders also criticized his players for not acknowledging the fans after the debacle.
"Football is just that kind of sport, this can happen. You have to learn something from it," added the Dutchman, who will need to lift his team’s morale quickly as Salzburg faces a big derby against Sturm in the Austrian league this weekend.