There were big verbal attacks against Red Bull Salzburg in Vienna on Thursday. In terms of ice hockey, however. One could understand the annoyance of Vienna Capitals manager Franz Kalla against the transfer offensive with a lot of money that followed five seasons in Salzburg without a championship title and weakened the Capitals. Because there were many correct arguments. Kalla could only have saved himself the reference to football. The question of what makes sense if a club wins 15 out of 16 possible titles in eight years was superfluous. In football, Salzburg not only has the greatest financial power, but has also been working best for years and has not poached the competition for a long time. In Germany no one will doubt the sense of the Bundesliga when Bayern Munich fix their ninth championship title in a row with a win against Mönchengladbach on Saturday.
The semifinals of the Europa League also somehow provoked people to think of Salzburg. Because Villlarreal was the first team to reach the final that eliminated Austria’s champions in February. In the round of 32 with two wins. 2-0 in Salzburg, 2-1 after 0-1 at home. Zlatko Junuzovic often came too late against Manu Trigueros (picture above). Then the yellow “submarine” “sank” Dinamo Kiev and Dinamo Zagreb. With the 0-0 win in London, the greatest success in the club’s history after the 2-1 in the first leg was perfect. A special satisfaction for coach Unai Emery: he had to leave Arsenal in December 2019. His successor Mikel Arteta had to congratulate him on Thursday evening at the Emirates Stadium with a bitter expression. Arsenal will not be represented in any international competition for the first time since 1995/96 in the next season. The assumption is quite realistic in ninth place in the Premier League.
In February, after both games, there was talk of a Salzburg self-fall against Villarreal. Wrongly because the La Liga sixth reached the final? Months later, you still have the feeling of defeat that shouldn’t have been. Because Salzburg failed more because of its own mistakes and was therefore not at eye level. There would have been more in there. But whether Salzburg would have made it to the final? Kiev and Dinamo Zagreb would not have been overpowering opponents. Villarreal prevented an English final from taking place in the Europa League and in the premier class, now calling on Manchester United, the favorite in Gdansk on May 26th. Who could afford to lose the second semifinals at AS Roma after the 6: 2 at Old Trafford with 2: 3.
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