Champions League: Los makes Salzburg’s hearts beat faster
It was “a difficult group with top opponents and real names,” said Jaissle after former top players Yaya Toure and Hamit Altintop had drawn Milan, Chelsea and Dinamo from Salzburg. The anticipation is huge, says the German. The team is also satisfied: “I saw the smiles on the boys’ faces, we are ready.” The first game will be on September 6th or 7th, the exact schedule will probably be set on Saturday.
Sports director Christoph Freund beat ORF in the same vein. “Chelsea FC won the Champions League two years ago and AC Milan are Italian champions. Extremely attractive, cool stadiums, extreme clubs with a lot of tradition and emotion. That’s why the team cheered because they’re really big names. I think it’s cool, the group,” said the Salzburg manager.
Attractive opponent for Salzburg
The draw for the UEFA Champions League defeated champions Salzburg on Thursday with an attractive draw. Opponents in Group E are AC Milan, Chelsea and Dinamo Zagreb, sporting director Christoph Freund is delighted.
Anticipation for top stars
The Salzburg kickers cheered during the draw, which the team watched together at the training center in Taxham. “We’re happy, it’s a cool group. We’re counting on a lot,” said goalie Philipp Köhn. “It could have been worse for us, we can live with it.” Salzburg sporting director Christoph Freund raved about the “crème de la crème of football”, a “worthy group” awaited, with “extremely strong opponents, with a lot of tradition”. .
Defender Maximilian Wöber is particularly expecting a clash with Milan’s star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. “An absolute traditional club, with really cool strikers like Ibrahimovic. That would be a dream duel for me,” said Wöber. However, the 40-year-old Swede is still working on his comeback after a long-term knee injury.
Milan back in old strength
With Milan and Chelsea, Salzburg drew two of Europe’s top addresses. The Milan “Rossoneri” have already won the championship cup and the Champions League seven times. Only Real Madrid have won the coveted trophy 14 times more than Milan. However, the last triumph of the Italians in the Champions League dates back to 2007.
The Milanese, trained by Stefano Pioli, got their 19th “Scudetto” in the past season after a long period of time. The Italians already have a past with Salzburg, against the predecessor club Austria in 1994 in the premier class a bottle-throwing scandal in the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium against the famous Salzburg goalie Otto Konrad caused a sensation.
Reunion of the Stuttgart connection
Two-time title holders Chelsea, drawn from pot two, won the 2020/21 season under German coach Thomas Tuchel in the 2020/21 season, which is often referred to as the “Henkelpott” in Germany, for the winner of the Champions League. Jaissle sees Tuchel again in a duel against the “Blues”. “It was my youth coach at VfB Stuttgart and was already a really good coach back then,” emphasized the 34-year-old.
In view of the past successes, Wöber expresses expectations. “Our goal must be to winter internationally. Last year was something very special, we have to keep our feet on the ground and be realistic,” said the Austrian team kicker. And Freund added: “We can only surprise against Chelsea and AC Milan.”
Zagreb as a well-known tough nut
The third opponent is Dinamo Zagreb and they are taking part in the group stage of the Champions League for the eighth time. With Robert Ljubicic and Emir Dilaver, there are also two Austrians in the squad of the Croatian record champions. Dinamo only managed to qualify for the premier class against the Norwegian champions Bodö/Glimt 4-1 after extra time, in which the Croatians won the CL ticket with two late goals.
“One of the toughest opponents from pot four,” said Jaissle, at this level there are no more gifts. Dinamo is also an old friend of the Salzburgers. Since 2009/10, the “Bulls” have played six duels with Croatia’s record champions, the record is 3-2-1. The only defeat was of course the most bitter: In 2016/17, after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in the CL play-off, a 1-2 home draw after extra time meant the end.
Groups to see each other again
Coach Oliver Glasner is currently dealing with Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt with Tottenham, Sporting and Olympique Marseille. Defending champions Real Madrid with ÖFB star David Alaba will be challenged against RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic Glasgow. For FC Bayern, there is a rapid reunion with world footballer Robert Lewandowski in the duel with FC Barcelona, and there are also Inter Milan and Viktoria Pilsen.
Speaking of reunions: The rules of the draw also brought Erling Haaland a reunion with his ex-club. The Norwegian, who stormed into the spotlight in the Champions League in Salzburg, meets Borussia Dortmund in Group G with Manchester City. They are joined by FC Sevilla and FC Copenhagen. The final will take place on June 10, 2023 in Istanbul.