2nd league: Kreuzer justifies KSC test against RB Salzburg
Karlsruher SC will play a friendly against RB Salzburg in the training camp. Managing director Oliver Kreuzer has now reacted to the criticism that the appointment has produced in fan circles.
During his playing days, Oliver Kreuzer played in more than 280 Bundesliga games for Karlsruhe and Bayern Munich.
IMAGO/Jan Hübner
From January 13th to 22nd, KSC will complete a training camp in Estepona, Spain, in order to be able to keep up with mild temperatures optimally for the second half of the season in the second division, which starts at the end of January. The fact that the Badeners used their stay in Spain to also hold a test match against RB Salzburg provoked criticism in the fan camp of the traditional club. The club responded to the “numerous inquiries” on Tuesday and went public with a statement from Managing Director Kreuzer.
“Of course we dealt with this topic, but in the end we decided to do it for sporting reasons,” the ex-professional defended the decision to stick to the appointment. According to Kreuzer, who himself worked as sports director for RB Salzburg from October 2006 to September 2007, scheduling reasons play a particularly important role. “Our agency was only able to place Salzburg as opponents for our desired date. The time in Estepona is planned accordingly, so another date was not possible.”
However, those responsible are aware of “how critically the RB construct is seen in football, especially in the Karlsruhe fan scene. That is why we would never play such a test match in Karlsruhe. Due to the great sporting added value with a test against a Europa League participants,” continued Kreuzer, “and the lack of alternatives due to the lack of other opponents, we would like to play the game.”