Salzburg champion for the ninth time in a row
Austria – RB Salzburg is Austria’s champion – for the ninth time in a row. Philipp Köhn and Noah Okafor once again played their part in the fact that the title fight in the Austrian league was decided early on.
In the Swiss national team, which is blessed with outstanding goalkeepers, Philipp Köhn, 24, has to take a back seat to Yann Sommer, Gregor Kobel and Jonas Omlin. His absolute achievement, however, has long been that of a goalie who would be number 1 in several national teams. In Salzburg he is undisputed. In the 28 (of 32) rounds played in the Austrian Bundesliga so far, he has 16 goals, an average of 0.57 goals.
Almost half as often, Köhn had to be defeated in a single match: in the 1:7 in the round of 16 second leg of the Champions League in Munich against Bayern. With the advance in the knockout phase of the premier class alone, Salzburg, as a representative of a small league, had already more than fulfilled the target. They advanced in the autumn in a group with clubs from Germany (Wolfsburg), Spain (FC Sevilla) and France (Lille).
Noah Okafor’s goal in the 1-0 home win in the crucial final group game against Sevilla made it possible to advance. In the championship, the 22-year-old from Basel is the best Salzburg goalgetter with nine goals after the highly acclaimed German Karim Adeyemi, who is likely to switch to Borussia Dortmund next season. Okafor has often been injured or battered this season. His goal production is all the more important.
18-year-old defender Bryan Okoh, another Swiss paid by the Red Bulls, could also become a mainstay. He had to have his ascent interrupted by a cruciate ligament tear. It should be operational again at the end of May.