The numbers behind Salzburg’s superiority
The Bundesliga table expresses Red Bull Salzburg’s superiority in points. Two interesting international studies shed light on how this comes about on the field.
Red Bull Salzburg won the Bundesliga again this year.
GEPA images
Even if the batteries at Red Bull Salzburg were no longer full recently, the Bundesliga table reflects a superiority broader that is unparalleled in Europe. 39 points from 16 games, twelve points ahead of the runner-up, the most goals scored, the fewest received – a quick look at the table shows how big the lead is over the rest of the domestic twelve-league. Every football fan knows that this superiority to the largest budget and thus the most expensive and valuable player is. How is this advantage expressed on the field? Two interesting studies by the CIES, the Center International d’Etude du Sport, based in Neuchâtel, provide information.
The ball is rolling for Salzburg
The CIES recently examined the ball circulation of 654 teams in 40 different countries worldwide and saw Red Bull Salzburg in the top field. The ball covers 10.9 kilometers in an average Salzburg game on the Passweg. The Jaissle-Elf takes 16th place in this ranking. The number one is not the former Tiki-Taka world champion FC Barcelona, but Celtic Glasgow. Under the Australian Ange Postecoglou, the “Hoops” achieved a ball circulation of 12.8 kilometers per game, Rapids Europa League opponents Dinamo Zagreb and Ajax Amsterdam (each 11.8) followed at a respectable distance. Bayern take fourth place with 11.7 kilometers.
And because Rapid was already mentioned: With 9.0 km in Austria – according to the table – the Hütteldorfer are in the middle of the field. The WSG Tirol comes closest to the Salzburgers with 10.0 km. A confirmation for the work of Thomas Silberberger and for the fact that it was not empty talk when you said your team had good combined football despite being last in the table. At the end of the pass table, it comes as no surprise that SV Ried is 7.5 km long, and at least under Andreas Heraf, he deliberately refrained from a high pass culture.
Neat Silberberger football
Passing frequency is of course directly related to ball circulation. Here, too, Celtic is ahead of the rest of the competition with 735 passes per game, Guardiola’s Manchester City (692) and the Brazilians from Shakhtar Donetsk (681) come closest to the Scots. RB Salzburg is not that far ahead with 575.5 passes, but in Austria it is again only WSG Tirol that still manages more than 500 passes per game (504.5), with Austria Klagenfurt bringing up the rear in this ranking with 355.9, just behind SV Ried with 368.3.
It is also the Pacult troop who do not dwell long with a well-groomed short passing game, but rather seek the quick way into the attack zone with wide balls. On average, the pass length of the Klagenfurters is 22 meters, the bulls with 18.9 meters are again just under the nose in front of the LASK with 19 meters. Internationally, Shakhtar and – with Messi and Neymar no wonder – Paris Saint-Germain can be found at the top (15.7m). Kick and Rush is still at home on the island: Livingston has an average pass length of 24.4 meters, Birmingham City 23.4 meters and Motherwell 23.2 meters.
Salzburg also front in the sprint
Red Bull Salzburg is as superior to national competition as it is to ball circulation when it comes to the highest sprint distances that can be covered per game. The CIES counts runs as a sprint that are covered at a speed of at least seven meters per second (25.2 km / h). The players of FC Leeds from Guardiola role model Marcelo Bielsa can refer to the international top value of 2.23 kilometers per game. Young Boys Bern follow in second place. The two-kilometer mark is exceeded by only four teams in Europe. Red Bull Salzburg is a little behind the absolute top at 1.68 km, but is still well above the league average of 1.38 km. At SV Ried it is only 1.09 km. The league with the strongest sprints is not surprising, but the Swiss Super League with 1.70 km, only then followed by Spain’s La Liga with 1.68 km and England’s Premier League with 1.65 km. At 1.47 km, the German Bundesliga is only slightly higher than the Austrian.
In view of the latest figures, it might not be so bad if Austria’s clubs, the next time they look for a coach, look in Switzerland to see how German sporting directors are dying more and more often.