Schmidt: Salzburg’s path “unique in European football”

“It was a hard slap in the face,” said coach Gerhard Struber after Tuesday’s 3-1 defeat at home against Benfica Lisbon, which meant Salzburg’s final exit from the European Cup. If they had lost by just one goal, Austria’s football champions would have moved to the Europa League. Thanks to the remarkable heel goal from “Joker” Arthur Cabral in stoppage time (90th + 2), the Portuguese took this “exit”, with head coach Roger Schmidt, a former Salzburg player, having a lot to look forward to. “I would have liked it for them too, but one of us had to leave,” said the German, who was in charge on the Mozartstadt bench from 2012 to 2014. Schmidt knows Salzburg’s philosophy well, and he has great respect for it despite the European Cup exit: “The path that Salzburg is taking, the players are all 19, 20, 21 – it’s unique in European football that such a young team is champion and plays regularly in the Champions League.” The 56-year-old continued that he had absolute respect for it. According to Schmidt, the Champions League group from which Real Sociedad and last year’s finalists Inter Milan rose was correspondingly difficult.

A development turbo

Struber has to get his team back together after the elimination: “It was a bitter moment for our young team, but it should also help us mature.” The games in the premier class were a turbocharger for his team’s development, as it was the first CL season for most of them. The closer the winter transfer phase gets, the more rumors of transfers around the Salzburg stable of young bulls increase. “Of course there are guys who have a certain market and who have inquiries. That’s nothing new,” emphasized the coach. “At the same time, my expectation and my wish is that we stay together so that we can draw on the full potential, just like the squad is showing now.” One who also stood out against Benfica was Linz-born Luka Sucic, who scored Salzburg’s goal.