By Alex Roberts
After lacking out on the Austrian Bundesliga title final season, the primary time in ten years, Salzburg employed a person Klopp could be very conversant in, Pepijn Lijnders, his former Liverpool assistant supervisor.
Leipzig, then again, already had one of many hottest younger managers on the helm. Marco Rose is considered top-of-the-line minds in German soccer, he had guided Leipzig to the Champions League for 3 consecutive seasons earlier than 2024/25.
Neither would make it to the top of the marketing campaign. Lijnders was the primary to go, sacked after six months in cost with a report of 13 wins, seven attracts, and 9 defeats below his belt. His Liverpool connections couldn’t save him, regardless of how a lot he tried.
Younger, dynamic central midfielder Bobby Clark joined from his former membership in a deal reported to be round £10 million, whereas Stefan Bajčetić was given an opportunity to impress on mortgage with the Austrians.
After a switch window that was fairly typical of the RB Salzburg we’ve come to know, shopping for younger gamers with a excessive ceiling to promote on for a revenue, expectations had been excessive as they sought to neglect the earlier season.
Lijnders’ tactical naivety was evident virtually instantly. He had grown too used to the gamers he had at Liverpool, with out the likes of Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, his Salzburg gamers couldn’t play the way in which he wished.
The hyperlink between defence, midfield, and assault had been virtually non-existent and consequently their defensive set-up left them extensive open on the transition, permitting the opposition to outnumber them and rating. Put merely, they appeared like 11 random gamers that had by no means seen one another by no means thoughts met.
Again in East Germany, Rose began the home season nicely, successful six, and drawing two video games earlier than struggling their first Bundesliga defeat of the season to Borussia Dortmund initially of November.
On the continent, it was a wholly totally different story. Champions League defeats to Atlético Madrid, Juventus, and Liverpool of their first three video games left them with little no hope of qualifying from the brand new look league part.
The aforementioned defeat to Dortmund is when the whole lot began to unravel for Rose and his lads. 4 losses and one draw of their subsequent 5 throughout all competitions noticed heads drop and religion within the boss diminish.
By the point 2025 rolled round, Klopp was named Pink Bull’s Head of World Soccer. It didn’t go down notably nicely with lots of German soccer followers; of their eyes one in every of their nice figureheads had offered out and turn into a company shill. No less than he didn’t must sack his previous mate Lijnders, that was finished and dusted earlier than he arrived.
Thomas Letsch was the person tasked with selecting up the items as Salzburg, and discuss a baptism of fireside, they travelled to Actual Madrid within the Champions League, dropping 5-1. Pink Bull may have finished him a favour and let him miss that one.
Atlético got here to Salzburg for his second recreation and their closing European recreation. The Austrians had nothing to play for aside from satisfaction however that was sufficient of a motivator. No less than for Letsch it was a 4-1 loss quite than 5-1.
Whereas Letsch’s time below the Pink Bull yolk was simply starting, the writing on the wall was beginning to seem for Rose. Xavi Simons, probably the most thrilling younger prospects in European soccer made his mortgage transfer everlasting in January however outcomes didn’t change.
Lastly, on March 30th, following a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach, Rose was given his marching orders by Klopp and co. His two-and-a-half-year stint on the membership was over and Zsolt Löw took over on an interim foundation.
Since then, the season has been a write off. Leipzig will probably be with none type of European soccer subsequent season having completed in seventh, only one level off Mainz who certified for the Convention League.
Barring a collapse of an unlimited magnitude, Sturm Graz will probably be topped Austrian champions for the second consecutive season as they sit on the summit of the Championship group with 39 factors. Austria Wien and Wolfsberger may, technically, nonetheless catch them however each sit three factors again, and require a mix of outcomes earlier than we begin to take a look at varied face to face ends in the occasion of groups ending degree on factors.
Salzburg nonetheless have one thing to play for, nevertheless. At present in fourth with 35 factors, they will nonetheless end as excessive as second and qualify for subsequent season’s Champions League. Failure to beat arch rivals Fast Wien on Saturday in one other version of arguably Austria’s greatest recreation would see them fall to their worst league end because the takeover.
Pink Bull will undoubtedly throw much more cash at their footballing challenge this summer time. Salzburg don’t at the moment have an Erling Haaland or Sadio Mané, the kind of younger star they might pin their hope on.
Leipzig do, however prime objective scorer Benjamin Šeško seems destined for the Premier League with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool circling, whereas Simons is reportedly pushing for a transfer simply six months after becoming a member of.
For the primary time since both of those golf equipment turned what they’re, the trajectory isn’t upwards. They flew too near the solar and the wax holding Pink Bull’s wings collectively has began to soften.
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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