Schlager recorded Salzburg’s victory: “I get goosebumps”

FC Salzburg once laid the foundation for wintering in the European Football Cup and perhaps even reaching the round of 16 in the Champions League. The remarkable 2-0 away win over the supposed second power in this Group D, Benfica, is not only worth 2.8 million euros, it also awakens dreams. “There were a few magical moments”said happy coach Gerhard Struber, who has the youngest starting eleven in the history of the “Premier class” sent to the lawn of the Estadio da Luz. The average age was 21 years and 183 days.

It was a mature performance, which was helped by the early exclusion of Antonio Silva (13th/goal robbery). But that shouldn’t diminish the success. Two protagonists stood out from a strong ensemble: firstly, Roko Simic, who effortlessly converted the penalty to make it 1-0 (15th) and then served Oscar Gloukh to make it 2-0 (51st) in an exemplary manner, and secondly, ex-LASK captain Alexander Schlager, who kept his case clean with a number of brilliant saves. The 27-year-old is almost something of a player in this very young team “oldie”but absolutely essential at the moment.

“We promised ourselves that we would, as the saying goes, go onto the pitch with balls in our pants and stick it out until the last minute”Schlager said: “We can be very proud of ourselves. I get goosebumps when I think about the Champions League. If you look at how few people in the world have the pleasure of being able to play. We don’t just want to be there, we also want to leave our mark on this competition.” That was successful.

The Portuguese champions Benfica had imagined the performance in front of 65,000 spectators, who said goodbye to the team or the Turkish referee Meler, who had awarded two absolutely justified penalties in favor of Salzburg, with a shrill concert of whistles. “Pretty much everything went against us. That’s how it is sometimes in football, you have to accept it”said Benfica coach Roger Schmidt, who once wielded the scepter in the city of Mozart: “I can’t blame my team. She showed a very good mentality.”

Salzburg’s first home game continues on October 3rd (6:45 p.m.). Then comes Real Sociedad, who drew 1-1 with Inter Milan.