Long-term champion RB Salzburg in check & does the Austrian league need a change of mode? (PHOTO)
Berlin (ots) – The Austrian Bundesliga has a little less of everything than Germany, for example: Less money and fewer spectators. And unfortunately, the Austrian Bundesliga can’t do with more points of tension either. Because similar to FC Bayern in Germany, RB Salzburg dominates the league in Austria.
who at Online betting in Austria bet against RB Salzburg as a master candidate will be richly rewarded. But the fact is that in the last 9 seasons the champion was always called RB Salzburg. Despite numerous departures in recent years, especially Erling Haaland, the Bulls are simply too strong for the domestic league.
The title is taken again. The new play-off mode that was introduced a few years ago does not change that. Why is the team from Salzburg so superior and does it need a system change to get more excitement in the league again?
The history of the Salzburgers – the top-class team from Austria
For those who don’t know yet: FC Red Bull Salzburg is the most successful Austrian football team, which is not called FC Bayern Austria for nothing. However, as gratifying as the victories are, the chronic success is just as stressful for the fans. There has long been no tension in the Bundesliga when it is (quickly) clear before the first game that Salzburg will bring another title home.
The heroes have already won the championship 14 times, the Austrian Supercup went to Salzburg three times and the team won the ÖFB Cup seven times. In the Red Bull Arena, victory always prevails, but has it always been like this?
Since 1933 – the company was founded a long time ago
FC Red Bull Salzburg will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the not too distant future, because it was founded on September 13, 1933. At that time, the team was still operating under the name SV Austria Salzburg and was actually a merger of FC Hertha Salzburg and FC Rapid Salzburg. It was only much later that the successful team was renamed to its current name.
Salzburg’s success rate is high, and not just recently
For many fans, Salzburg’s success rate is decidedly too high and the team is repeatedly accused of being bored. How much fun is the sport when the winner is already known before the tournament starts? Of course, there is no title too many for the Salzburg fans, because they love the sport and want their team to break as many records as possible. Why play worse when the others could improve their performance? A look at the milestones shows that there is still so much to expect here.
- The first championship title: The success story began in the 1993/1994 season and the first championship title was won. In the same season, Salzburg also lost to Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup final. It also became apparent early on that Salzburg could not only play an important role on a national level.
- The name change: When the main sponsor Red Bull got involved in 2005, the name was changed to FC Red Bull Salzburg, two years earlier the team moved to what is now the Red Bull Arena.
- The record championship: In the 2006/2007 season, Salzburg set a new record and won the championship with a lead of 19 points. Coach Giovanni Trapattoni was proud to report that there has never been such a high number of points in the entire Austrian Bundesliga.
- The disappointment: A typical phenomenon occurred in the 2007/2008 season when Salzburg went into the next championship too confident of victory. In order to completely succumb to the humiliation, they lost 7-0 to eventual champions Rapid Vienna in the final stages of the season in their own stadium and had to settle for second place.
- The resurgence: The 2008/2009 season already showed that Salzburg had taken the debacle of the previous year to heart. She takes the title again with 23 wins in the season and is also the top scorer with Marc Janko. He even managed to break the record of Hans Krankl to be topped, who once scored 41 goals in the Austrian Oberhaus. With 39 goals, Marc Janko was not far behind.
The Red Bulls’ title hunt keeps Salzburg in suspense
As boring as the title hunt is for the fans of other teams, it is cheered on by the people of Salzburg. After the 2009/2010 season, a crazy hunt for new titles began with their all-time records.
In 2010/2011, another setback had to be accepted. Ultimately, it was the Sturm Graz team that was able to place itself at the top of the table this season. On the other hand, Salzburg started again in 2011/2012 and not only won the championship, but also the cup victory. They won their first double and wrote club history again. Stefan Maierhofer and Jakob Jantscher had to share the title of top scorer, the latter also receiving the award for the most valuable player of the season.
In 2012/2013 another small disappointment followed, because although 77 points and a total of 91 goals were scored, the record holder was only runner-up. But a reversal took place at the level of sympathy. The teams, their hearts for the fans, became more popular and managed to significantly increase their circle of influence. Spurred on by the love of the fans, the second double could be achieved in 2013/2014. Another record was also in there, with entering the round of 16 in the Europa League.
Things have been going uphill since 2015
The knot burst and Salzburg has been unstoppable since 2014/2015. A third double victory and thus two in a row ensures a new entry in the record list. But that’s not enough for the sympathetic people of Salzburg and so they decided with a good performance not only to win their fourth title in five years in the 2015/2016 season, but also to become a triple double winner at the same time. And another piece of football history was written.
Can you do it again? They could, and they showed it in the 2016/2017 season. Not only was the almost obligatory cup brought home again, this time a new record was set with 81 points. They beat it again in the 2017/2018 season, this time with 83 points and of course another championship title. After sniffing the air of fame for Salzburg, there seems to be no end in sight.
In 2018/2019, of course, the typical title was won again, for the sixth time in a row and paired with a double. According to the motto new year, new victory, the title was won in 2019/2020 and even the double in the following season 2020/2021. And who would have thought otherwise: The championship title is also a done deal this season and there is still a chance of the next double.
So it’s no wonder that hardly anyone tunes in when Salzburg do the honors again. Because why should anything change this time? The winning streak doesn’t seem to be over yet, even though Jesse Marsch has resigned and new youngsters are starting. So there is only one thing left for the forever runners-up: train, tag, tag!
Or can a mode change create more excitement?
The current play-off system has not resulted in the permanent champion RB Salzburg having to be ousted from the top. Perhaps the makers behind the Austrian Bundesliga will have to enter completely new territory and make another change of mode.
Here’s an idea: As before, the teams play a preliminary round, which results in the championship and relegation round. Instead of a league being continued in which potential champions are almost uncatchable ahead, there could also be a knockout system. This principle is known from American sports.
RB Salzburg, as table leader, would then have to win against 6th place in the first and second leg in order to advance to the next round. That would spice up the playoffs, because you can always afford to miss out.
This would also avoid the situation in which the last games of the play-offs can only be marketed poorly because practically all placements have already been determined. It’s also important to keep being creative to keep the league exciting.
Questions & contact:
Künkel, 017660067001