Salzburg hope to avoid Champions League slip up

On Wednesday evening, in the Swedish city of Malmö, a piece of Austrian football history is being prepared.

Red Bull Salzburg, a club younger than some of its own players sit 2-1 up from the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against Malmö, knowing that success will guide them delicately into the Champions League for the first time in their brief history.

The importance is not lost on Sporting director Ralf Rangnick. “These are now the two most important games we have played so far,” he said prior to last week’s first leg.

Champions League Goals

Qualification to the group stages of the Champions League represents an obvious progression for Red Bull after years spent in the Europa League. Attacking last season’s competition with gusto, their peak came at the Amsterdam Arena against Ajax. Racing into a 3-0 lead inside the first half, it was made more impressive by the fact Ajax had previously let in just six goals in 1440 minutes at home.

The star man that evening was undoubtedly Spaniard Jonathan Soriano. Indulging the home crowd in a spectacular shot from the half-way line, it was a moment that rapidly spread around the internet via social media.

Born in Barcelona, Soriano began his career at Espanyol before being released in 2009. "I was in a very bad situation,” he told El Periodico. “My time at Espanyol came to an end, and no bids were coming. I felt lonely, and thought of quitting football and getting another job.”

However after being offered a chance at Barcelona B under Luis Enrique, he scored 32 goals in 37 games during the 2010-2011 season . Unable to break into the senior side of Barcelona, he was sold to Salzburg in January 2012 for £440,000.

Bargain

Now looking like a bargain fee, the 28-year-old has so often been the success-maker for Red Bull. The most prolific Spanish striker in Europe last season, he recorded a goal on average every 78 minutes in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Yet despite Soriano’s heroics, Salzburg are far from universally appreciated. In previewing their tie against Malmö last week, a Swedish journalist writing for Aftonbladet referred to them as “the most hated football club of our time”.

Not the only club with Red Bull ties, New York, Leipzig, Sao Paolo and Sogakope all house professional clubs with the Red Bull prefix.

Viewed by critics as the tipping point for the commercialisation of football, the team formerly known as SV Austria Salzburg has certainly undergone changes since being bought out in 2005.

Gone are the purple and white colours associated with SV, while the club’s crest has also received a Red Bull themed makeover.

Speaking at the time, Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz was unforgiving: “Ask ten people what violet and Austria means in football and nine will tell you Austria Vienna.”

Eager to lay out his goals, Mateschitz added: “We want to play as early as next season in Austria with the best two to three clubs and establish Red Bull Salzburg in the next three to five years as a top European club,” he said during an interview in 2005.

As well as changes to the crest and colours, the rebranding also impacted the terraces. The presence of the clubs Ultras has waned as they began to attract more children and families. Despite attendances still currently above what they were under SV Salzburg, the club has actually seen a drop in numbers in recent years. 

With designs on challenging at Europe’s top table, that objective has required patience. The club is yet to taste Champions League football, having failed in four previous attempts. Hiring former Schalke boss Rangnick as Sporting Director in June 2012, his arrival came a month before the club was once again eliminated from Europe’s elite competition, this time by minnows Dudelange of Luxembourg.

Live UEFA Champions League

The defeat represented a tipping point for the club’s hierarchy. Having spent close to €30million on players since Rangnick’s arrival, on the pitch Salzburg have developed an aggressive, attacking playing style that looks to press their opponents.

Preferring to sign younger talents with potential for growth like Kevin Kampl, Sadio Mane and Valon Berisha, Salzburg’s ability to match the wages of smaller Bundesliga clubs while also offering European football places them in a strong negotiating position.

Also able to resist bids from foreign suitors - having already rejected offers for Soriano - the club seem ready to embark on the next step of Mateschitz’s project.

Still with one step to make, a stumble at this point seems almost unthinkable.  and while for some clubs simply arriving in the group stages is achievement enough Rangnick is already planning for more: "Now we have a team that has the quality to make it not only in the Champions League, but to play a role in the group stage.”

Malmo versus Red Bull Salzburg (19:45 kick off) is just one of the Champions League playoff second leg matches available via the Sky Sports red button on Wednesday