Rapid against Salzburg and the law of the series
Not much speaks for Rapid’s successful start to the year in the Bundesliga. In the previous week there was a bitter 1-2 home draw against TSV Hartberg in the cup quarter-finals, now on Friday (7.30 p.m./live and free to air on Sky) a recently overpowering opponent is waiting again in the Allianz Stadium. Red Bull Salzburg have only managed one win in the past 22 championship duels, plus four defeats in the cup recently.
Coach Ferdinand Feldhofer was unimpressed by such statistics. “I’ve only been here for a short time and I’ve already enjoyed winning against Salzburg and Liefering,” said the Styrian, referring to his successes with WAC and Lafnitz. The 42-year-old expects an “intense game. I’m full of confidence that we can definitely show something that the Salzburgers might not like.”
The bankruptcy against Hartberg has been worked up, reported Feldhofer. “We probably have to do better and pull each other out, not become passive,” demanded the coach with a view to the effects of the first TSV goal conceded. Feldhofer did not provide any information on the current personnel situation on Thursday afternoon – it was therefore unclear whether Robert Ljubicic and Taxiarchis Fountas, who were recently ill, would be available or whether Maximilian Hofmann would be fit early after his calf injury.
With regard to a possible starting XI for Ferdy Druijf, the coach did not show any clear trend and only said: “He is not yet 100 percent.” “Now it’s time to integrate it into our processes and tactics,” said Feldhofer.
Druijf himself was far from demanding a place in the starting lineup. The attacker preferred to talk about his first positive experiences at Rapid (“A big club, the people here make me feel good”), about his style of play (“I’m always in the penalty area and I want to score goals”) and the chances of success against Salzburg ( “A difficult game, but if we do our best we have a chance”). Despite the great expectations, he felt no pressure. “I’m happy to play, it’s a new adventure.”
According to Feldhofer, this positive attitude will be necessary in order to succeed against the defending champion and table leader. “We need a lot of courage, commitment, passion and duel leadership.” Defensive battles will not be given to the “bulls”. “If you only defend, it won’t work out. We have to set the tone ourselves and take the mood out of them.”
Fan support will be limited acoustically because only a maximum of 2,000 spectators are allowed on Friday for the last time. A day later, the stadium could theoretically have been full, but Salzburg announced a postponement because of the first knockout round first leg of the Champions League against FC Bayern on Wednesday. Feldhofer understood this at least in part, but also regretted the decision. “It would have been very good for us if we had had more fans.”
The home advantage is practically gone, and Feldhofer does not believe there is a possible advantage because of the Bayern game – the Styrian does not assume that the champion WILL act foam-braked on Wednesday. “We can cancel this hope.”
Salzburg coach Matthias Jaissle left no doubt about his team’s motivation for Friday’s match. “We know how important this game is – especially for our fans – and we will do everything we can to ensure that they are happy after the game.”
However, the German is prepared for tough resistance. “Even though Rapid has now been eliminated from the cup, the team stabilized significantly in the fall and only lost one of the last nine games in the league. We have also been warned and know that we need a top performance again.” Jaissle has some staffing worries, so seven pros are likely to be out. On the other hand, offensive top performer Karim Adeyemi can run in again after his tonsillectomy.