Peschek: “We don’t stick our heads in the sand and say the world is unfair”
It’s that time again. The “classic” between Red Bull Salzburg and Rapid is coming up. But in the hit between commerce and tradition, the outcome has long been inevitable. The “Bulls” are now more valuable than the kickers of all eleven other clubs combined. Kicker Rapids board member Christoph Peschek demands whether this will change again temporarily.
Rapid has not won any of the last twelve duels, one of the last 27. Eye level was once, open visor fight? Past. The league Croesus from Salzburg is heading for its nineteen championship titles, the record champions from Hütteldorf have been without a plate for 14 years, longer than ever.
Matchday 25 – Master Group
“Measured by the economic superiority over all other clubs, Salzburg should actually be champions in flip-flops,” Zoran Barisic had long seen the “bulls” “in a league of their own”.
31 “bulls” more valuable than the 321 competition kickers
A look at the market values of the twelve Bundesliga clubs proves him right. Karim Adeyemi & Co. are appraised on transfermarkt.at at a total market value of 220 million euros. That of the entire Bundesliga is 404 million. Salzburg’s luxury kicker also accounts for 54.4 percent of the league value. Or to put it another way: the 31 players in the “Bulls” squad are more valuable than all 321 kickers from the eleven competing clubs combined! Can there be a league with a bigger imbalance?
Kicker put it to the test and trawled through all the leagues in Europe, from Albania to Cyprus, in search of an even superior league leader. The result: A single league, the Divizia Nationala of the Republic of Moldova, has a club in FC Sheriff Tiraspol whose market value accounts for a (slightly) even higher proportion of the league’s total value. The unusual Champions League starter, who disgraced Real Madrid in the fall and not by chance won nine of the last ten championships, combined with 19.08 million 55.7 percent of the league value. However, he also only has seven league competitors. And the advantage over the second (Petrocub Hincesti) is even smaller than that of Red Bull Salzburg on Rapid.
Six times the price of Rapid
The Green-Whites have a squad value of 36.1 million. That of Salzburg is also six times as high! A discrepancy that one tries to forgive in the other 53 UEFA leagues (Liechtenstein has none of its own). And which has been growing steadily in the years since Salzburg’s first participation in the Champions League.
When Wiener Austria snatched the championship title from Ligakroesus for the last time in 2013, the “difference factor” was still 1.7. At that time, the 24.48 million of the violets faced 42.9 million of the “bulls”. Since then, the value of Salzburg has quintupled, that of Rapids has increased just once. What does Rapid’s economics director Christoph Peschek say about this?
kicker: In view of these numbers, will the competition have to accept that the title has been awarded to Red Bull Salzburg for many years to come?
Christopher Peschenk: That was the most frequently asked question at the start of our federal state tour in Wels a few days ago: When will Rapid finally become champion again? The longing is huge. When the fans then hear that Red Bull Salzburg plus Liefering’s turnover is 130 to 140 million euros, but Rapid’s is 40 million euros, they realize that economic superiority is of course a key factor in sporting success. But let’s not stick our heads in the sand, say the world is unfair and stop playing football. If the chance ever arises, we want to seize it. However, it is a fact that you no longer play against a club at Salzburg, but against an international football group.
How can Rapid stand up against Salzburg’s superiority in the future?
Every club has to develop its own strategy to get the most out of it. Rapid had negative equity of around 1.5 million euros in 2013, but only 18 million euros in sales from the national competition, as well as a Hanappi Stadium that everyone loved, but whose operating license would have expired in a few years. That’s why we had to consolidate the club as a first step, with the construction of the Allianz Stadium we took several development steps at the same time, because it’s also important for the third stage, which is about opening up new resources and making the club more professional . The fourth stage, which we are now tackling despite the pandemic, is the Körner training center, which is the basis for our future youth work. These are all the basic conditions for the greatest possible sporting success, in addition to which we always have to look at economic stability.
But I think it would be a sensible discussion to regulate management costs in such a way that they conscientiously must not exceed a proportion of sales.
Rapid board member Christoph Peschenk and his considerations for more balance in the league.
The entry of an investor who could accelerate the race to catch up with Salzburg is still not compatible with the membership association, is it?
Independence is Rapid’s greatest asset. If the members wanted to change that, I would be the wrong manager. Although I find the call for investors bizarre, because in Austria it’s more a story of bankruptcies, breakdowns and failures. The truth is, an investor wants to get more money out than they invest, otherwise they wouldn’t be an investor, they’d be a donor. I also think the 50+1 debate is essential, so that we can even get away from investors or states that have stakes in football clubs.
Could the Bundesliga take countermeasures by introducing a salary cap or a budget limit? We also asked Bundesliga spokesman Mathias Slezak this question.
Mathias Schlesak: “By halving the points, we have already dared to afford a classic round-trip model compared to other leagues.
Christopher Peschek: The discussion of how to bring more excitement into the title fight must be allowed, it’s now also happening in Germany. I don’t know if a salary cap is the right tool. Thanks to great work, the Austrian Bundesliga has become number eight in the UEFA five-year ranking in Europe, and all clubs benefit from that. But I think it would be a sensible discussion to regulate management costs in such a way that they conscientiously must not exceed a proportion of sales. I’m not interested in curtailing Salzburg. You also have to acknowledge that they do it really professionally, despite all their economic potential. If you think back to the early days, it was different. 2008 was a special title for Rapid, but Salzburg didn’t have the concept that is so successful today. Nevertheless, it should still be possible for David to beat Goliath. That’s what football is all about.
Internationally, too, Rapid will only be able to survive in the future if TV money goes up significantly in the medium term.
I’ve just come from a conference of the European Clubs Association when I hear from colleagues from other leagues that they get 50 to 60 percent of the budget from TV money. We have eight percent! We’re up there in non-broadcasting revenue, but the TV money is so important that we’re now one of the tightest budget clubs in the Europa League group stage. This is quickly taken for granted, because we are one of the record participants with great regularity. But it is not.
Rapid fans still have to adjust to years without a title?
“Like many fans, I’m full of longing for the plate and it would be our greatest wish, but if you promise titles, you also have to say where the 100 million a year are supposed to come from? The point is simply not to risk the club’s continued existence. We owe that to the tradition and values of the club and the one million Rapid fans. Of course, the goal is a top three place in the Bundesliga and the cup is still there, so losing to Hartberg hurts us.
Maybe the Bundesliga should really introduce a Best of the Rest award?
I don’t think you have to find a title, I would really like to finish first. Maybe you should simply recognize the runner-up title more. But Rapid is more than the table anyway, Rapid also has a social meaning in a world in which traditional institutions such as church or parties are becoming less and less important anyway.