No Bang So Far For Red Bull Salzburg’s Buck

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Red Bull Salzburg sporting director DIETMAR BEIERSDORFER (left), the one-time German international who spent the majority of his career with SV Hamburg and SV Werder Bremen, and club head coach HUUB STEVENS, the former Dutch international who played primarily with PSV Eindhoven, flank the Austrian Bundesliga’s most expensive summer signing — from Brazilian club FC Fluminense, 21-year-old attacker ALAN Douglas Borges de Carvalho — at the Red Bull Arena. (Ralph Martin Fischer/GEPA Pictures)
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With the financial resources of the energy drink manufacturer, Red Bull GmbH, available to the team, RED BULL SALZBURG are to the Austrian Bundesliga what Manchester City is to most of the teams in the wealthy English Premier League.

Manchester City, owned by United Arab Emirates Royal Family member Mansour bin Zayad Al Nahyan, easily paced the world of professional football by forking out over 145.0 million Euros in transfer fees this off-season summer; five of the world’s ten most expensive summer signings have headed for the Eastlands in England.

Very few Austrian clubs spent any money at all acquiring new players, instead opting for austerity and fresh faces on free transfers; only one team even approached a total expenditure of what would be, by English standards, a modest figure of one million Euros.

That was, of course, Red Bull Salzburg, whose final bill for this summer’s shopping came to roughly 13.5 million Euros.

Unfortunately for both Red Bull Salzburg management as well as Dutch coach HUUB STEVENS, the early dividends paid from this summer’s investments have been less than spectacular both on the European stage and domestic front.

Red Bull Salzburg were unceremoniously dumped out of the UEFA Champions League in the Playoff Round by Israeli club FC Hapoel Tel Aviv recently and stand seventh out of ten after six rounds in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Granted, Red Bull Salzburg have two league games in hand due to postponements; just five goals from the four Bundesliga matches played, however, is a problem for a squad of such pedigree and experience.

The team did lose its top two goal-scorers from a season ago — Austria international striker MARC JANKO (18 goals, 34 games) was sold to Dutch Eredivisie side FC Twente Enschede and, at the end of August, Cameroon international midfielder SOMEN TCHOYI (8 goals, 36 games) left for West Bromwich Albion of the English Premier League.

But, on the whole, the “high-priced” replacements have yet to deliver the goods.

Midfielder JAKOB JANTSCHER, bought from SK Sturm Graz for a fee of roughly 1.06 million Euros, has been the exception to the rule with three goals for Red Bull his first four Bundesliga games to go with another in the UEFA Champions League, but the production from the strikers has been less than stellar so far.

Champions Lge ——— Bundesliga
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6 ga/6 st – 2 go ——— 4 ga/4 st – 1 go — Gustavo ZARATE
4 ga/3 st – 2 go ——— 4 ga/3 st – 0 go — Roman WALLNER
3 ga/2 st – 1 go ———- 3 ga/1 st – 1 go — Joaquin BOGHOSSIAN
2 ga/0 st – 0 go ——— 1 ga/0 st – 0 go — ALAN

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Transfer Fees
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3.767 mil Eu — FC Fluminense (Brz) —————— ALAN
3.229 mil Eu — CA Cerro Montevideo (Urg) —- Joaquin BOGHOSSIAN
1.400 mil Eu — Grasshopper Zurich (Switz) —- Gonzalo ZARATE
1.292 mil Eu — LASK Linz ——————————- Roman WALLNER

FC Hapoel Tel Aviv 1 – Red Bull Salzburg 1

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FC Hapoel Tel Aviv’s Brazilian defender DOUGLAS DA SILVA (3) struggles with Cameroonian forward LOUIS NGWAT-MAHOP (29) of Red Bull Salzburg for possession of the ball at the Bloomfield Stadium. (Jack Guez/AFP)
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UEFA Champions League
Playoff round, second leg
8/24/2010

1 – FC Hapoel Tel Aviv (ISR) ——- Zahavi 90+2′
1 – Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) ——— own goal 42′

Despite some tense moments in the second half, FC HAPOEL TEL AVIV defended well enough and, eventually, scored an injury time goal to draw 1-1 with Austrian club RED BULL SALZBURG in the second leg of the UEFA Champions playoff tie.

Manager ELI GUTMAN’s Hapoel Tel Aviv team triumph 4-3 on aggregate and, thus, become only the third Israeli team to qualify for the Group Stage of the Champions League.

Red Bull Salzburg pulled level over the two legs shortly before halftime courtesy an own goal; Nigeria World Cup goalkeeper VINCENT ENYEAMA dove to deal with a low, driven cross and punched the ball off of Brazilian defender DOUGLAS DA SILVA into the Hapoel net.

Hapeol Tel Aviv, however, were able to hold the fort in the second half and netted a deserved equalizer on the evening when 22-year-old midfielder ERAN ZAHAVI scored his second goal in the Champions League this summer two minutes into injury time.

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FC HAPOEL TEL AVIV : Enyeama ; Ben Dayan, da Silva, Badeer, Kende ; Rocchi (Abutbul 74′), Zahavi, Yadin, Vermouth ; Sahar (Shish 90+1′), Maree (Fransman 65′)

RED BULL SALZBURG : Tremmel ; Svento, Sekagya, Afolabi, Schwegler ; Pokrivac, Leitgeb, Mendes da Silva ; Wallner (Boghossian 74′), Zarate, Ngwat-Mahop (Alan 65′)

Red Bull Salzburg 2 – FC Hapoel Tel Aviv 3

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Nigeria World Cup goalkeeper VINCENT ENYEAMA (1) blasts a penalty kick past Red Bull Salzburg’s German shot-stopper GERHARD TREMMEL to give visting FC Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel the early 1-0 lead at the Red Bull Arena in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria. (Reuters photo)
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UEFA Champions League
Playoff round, first leg
8/18/2010

2 – Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) —— Pokrivac 28′, Wallner pen 67′
3 – FC Hapoel Tel Aviv (ISR) —— Enyeama pen 3′, Sahar 44′, Shechter 53′

Victory coupled with three away goals certainly leaves FC HAPOEL TEL AVIV in a strong position heading home for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League playoff tie with RED BULL SALZBURG.

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Israel international striker BEN SAHAR, in front of Uganda international defender IBRAHIM SEKAGYA (23) of Red Bull Salzburg here, heads a cross from the not-pictured Dede Ben Dayan past the German goalkeeper Tremmel to give Hapoel Tel Aviv a 2-1 advantage shortly before the end of the first half. (Reuters photo)
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Having defeated the offsides trap near midfield, Israel international striker ITAY SHECHTER (9) slips the ball past the luckless Tremmel on the breakaway for a surprising 3-1 Hapoel Tel Aviv advantage just eight minutes into the second half. (Reuters photo)
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RED BULL SALZBURG : Tremmel ; Svento, Sekagya, Afolabi, Schwegler ; Pokrivac, Jantscher, Schiemer (Alan 67′), Leitgeb ; Zarate (Ngwat-Mahop 78′), Boghossian (Wallner 59′)

FC HAPOEL TEL AVIV : Enyeama ; Ben Dayan, da Silva, Badeer, Kende ; Shivhon (Rocchi 72′), Zahavi, Yadin, Vermouth (Fransman 90+1′); Shechter, Sahar (Maree 79′)

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Austria international midfielder CHRISTOPH LEITGEB (24) with the two goal-scorers for Red Bull Salzburg, Croatia international midfielder NIKOLA POKRIVAC and Austria international striker ROMAN WALLNER (7), after defeat at home in the Champions League. (Reuters photo)

Somen Tchoyi To Split Red Bull Salzburg?

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Cameroon international midfielder SOMEN TCHOYI (white shirt) of Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg is obstructed by DENNIS GLAVINA of Croatian side NK Dinamo Zagreb during the UEFA Champions League third round qualifying match at Red Bull Arena in July of 2009. (Kerstin Joensson/AP)
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First, the regining Footballer of the Year in Austria was not even on the bench for either of Red Bull Salzburg’s UEFA Champions League third round qualifying matches with AC Omonia Nicosia of Cyprus.

Now, the name of the team’s second-leading league goal-scorer from last season has been left off the provisional 24-man roster of Red Bull Salzburg by Dutch manager Huub Stevens ahead of the critical Champions League playoff tie with FC Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel.

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Cameroon midfielder SOMEN TCHOYI (13) of Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg fends off the challenge of Gabon defender GEORGES AMBOUROUET of Romanian side FC Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt during the Africa Cup of Nations match at the Alto da Chela Stadium in Angola this past January. (Gallo Images/Getty Images Europe)
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The speculation is that Red Bull Salzburg will be selling Cameroon international SOMEN TCHOYI, who scored eight goals in 36 league games for Red Bull Salzburg last season but missed the 2010 World Cup in South Africa due to injury, very soon.

English Premier League club WEST BROMWICH ALBION are reputed to be the buyers for the 27-year-old midfielder with the transfer fee expected to be range between 1.8 and 3.0 million Euros.

Judging from the 6-0 stomping applied by Chelsea on opening day in England, the Baggies could stand to supplement the line-up.

Red Bull Salzburg 4 – AC Omonia Nicosia 1

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German goalkeeper GERHARD TREMMEL of Austrian champion Red Bull Salzburg, an off-season signing from German club FC Energie Cottbus, celebrates a goal for the home side during the UEFA Champions League match with AC Omonia Nicosia at the Red Bull Arena in Wals-Siezenheim. (Reuters photo)
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UEFA Champions League
third round qualifying, second leg
8/04/2010

4 – Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) —- Svento 21′, Schiemer 37′, 40′, Boghossian 58′
1 – AC Omonia Nicosia (CYP) — Rengifo 90′

On the heels of a draw from the first leg in Cyrpus, three first-half goals stamped RED BULL SALZBURG’s authority on the return match of the UEFA Champions League third round qualifying tie with AC OMONIA NICOSIA.

Slovakia international midfielder DUSAN SVENTO, drafted into the first team at the last minute as left back, opened the scoring with a long-range, left-footed drive from about 25 yards out ; Austria international defender FRANZ SCHIEMER, deployed in central midfield for the day by Dutch manager HUUB STEVENS, added a pair of goals inside of four minutes for Red Bull Salzburg late in the opening session.

Six foot-five inch striker JOAQUIN BOGHOSSIAN, for whose contract Red Bull Salzburg recently sent CA Cerro Montevideo 2.0 million Euros, demonstrated his worth before an hour had even been played. The 23-year-old Uruguayan, who spent last season on loan in Argentina with Newell’s Old Boys, easily headed home a cross from Argentine striker GONZALO ZARATE in the 58th minute to record his first-ever goal for the defending Austrian Bundesliga champions.

Peru international striker HERNAN RENGIFO, a summer signing from Polish club Lech Poznan who came on as second half substitute, spoiled the shutout bid of Red Bull Salzburg’s German goalkeeper GERHARD TREMMEL with a headed goal of his own for AC Omonia Nicosia in the 90th minute.

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RED BULL SALZBURG : Tremmel ; Svento, Sekagya, Afolabi, Schwegler ; Mendes da Silva (Hierlaender 82′), Jantscher, Schiemer (Augustinussen 70′), Leitgeb (Ngwat-Mahop 85′) ; Zarate, Boghossian

OMONIA NICOSIA : Georgalidis ; Morais, Karipidis, Bouzon, Leandro ; Makridis, Charalambous, Kaseke (Avraam 67′), Aloneftis ; Konstantinou (Rengifo 72′), Lua Lua (Efrem 59′)

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MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

AC Omonia Nicosia 1 – Red Bull Salzburg 1

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Red Bull Salzburg striker GONZALO ZARATE (11) of Argentina accepts congratulations in Cyprus for his early goal, described as a harmless shot from outside the penalty area by the Austrian press, against Omonia Nicosia; the home side started their number two goalkeeper, 36-year-old Serbia & Montenegro international DRAGOSLAV JEVRIC (43 caps), an off-season signing from Israeli club Maccabi Petah Tikvah.
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UEFA Champions League
third round qualifying, first leg
7/27/2010

1 – Omonia Nicosia (CYP) ———- Lua Lua pen 90+1′
1 – Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) ——- Zarate 8′

Congo DR international striker LOMANA LUA LUA, a halftime substitute, converted a penalty kick in extra time to give the hosting champion of Cyrpus, AC OMONIA NICOSIA, a share of the spoils in the UEFA Champions League against Austrian meister RED BULL SALZBURG at the GSP Stadium in the capital city.

The 29-year-old striker, who spent seven seasons in the Premier League with both Newcastle United and FC Portsmouth before transferring to Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus for a reported 2.8 million English pounds in the summer of 2007, signed for AC Omonia Nicosia this off-season.

Red Bull Salzburg’s Argentine striker GONZALO ZARATE had sent the visitors ahead in just the eighth minute of the match with his second goal in as Champions League contests since signing for the Austrian club from Grasshopper Zurich of Switzerland.

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AC OMONIA NICOSIA : Jevric ; Morais, Karipidis, Bouzon, Leandro ; Efrem, Makridis, Charalambous, Kaseke (Avraam 64′), Aloneftis (Lua Lua 46′) ; Konstantinou (Rengifo 82′)

RED BULL SALZBURG : Tremmel ; Ulmer, Schiemer (Dudic 86′), Sekagya, Afolabi, Schwegler ; Mendes da Silva, Svento (Jantscher 81′), Leitgeb ; Wallner (Tchoyi 71′), Zarate

FC Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)

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FC Red Bull Salzburg midfielder SOMEN TCHOYI (13), the Cameroon international who was the second-leading league goal-scorer with eight for Dutch coach HUUB STEVENS’ charges last season, fends off the challenge of KLAUS SALMUTTER of LASK Linz in the Austrian Bundesliga. (GEPA photo)
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For those who hate corporate entities and / or commercialism in professonal football, the ultimate evil could quite well be FC RED BULL SALZBURG, the current defending back-to-back champions of Austria.

The energy drink giant, Red Bull GmbH, purchased a club with a 72-year-old history, SV Austria Salzburg, in April of 2005 and immediately alienated football fans not just in Salzburg but, indeed, across Europe, as well.

The new owners immediately re-christened the team Red Bull Salzburg, changed the team colors and proclaimed “this is a new club with no history.”

The official team website then declared the club was founded in 2005, but this was too much for the Austrian Football Association, who ordered that statement taken down.

Not surprisingly, a rift soon developed between the supporters of the traditions and history associated with the old club and those who stood with the team under new management. Many fan clubs throught Europe voiced their solidarity with the “old” supporters, known as the Violet-Whites after the forsaken colors, as they were seen as victims of growing commercialism in football.

Just six months after the takeover by the Red Bull energy drink manufacturer, in October of 2005, the Violet-Whites successfully registered the old “SV Salzburg Austria” name and logo with the Austria FA. One season later, a new team was entered in 2.Klasse Nord, the seventh tier of football in Austria. Entering this 2010-11 season, SV Austria Salzburg have earned promotion to the Third Division.

In the meantime, FC Red Bull Salzburg have captured three Bundesliga championships total, including the titles for the past two years.

The top goal-scorer from last season, Austria international MARC JANKO (16 caps, 7 goals), has been sold to Dutch side FC Twente Enschede.

The 27-year-old forward, whose mother won a bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics in the Javelin event, was moved for a fee which will be between four and seven million Euros depending on results. Janko enjoyed a career year in 2008-09 with 39 goals in 34 league matches for Red Bull Salzburg and added another 18 goals in 34 Bundesliga games this past season.

GONZALO ZARATE, the 25-year-old Argentine forward who found the net 25 times in 89 matches for Swiss club Grasshopper Zurich the past three campaigns, comes to Austria as Janko’s possible replacement.

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FC RED BULL SALZBURG : Off-season transactions
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Players Arriving
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fw – Roman WALLNER ————— Austria int’l — fr LASK Linz
fw – Gonzalo ZARATE —————– Argentina — fr Grasshopper Zurich (Switz)
fw – Joaquin BOGHOSSIAN ——– Uruguay — fr CA Cerro Montevideo (Urg)
fw – ALAN D. B. de Carvalho ——– Brazil — fr FC Fluminense (Brz)
mf – Johan VANLANTHEN ——— Switzerland int’l — fr FC Zurch (Switz)
mf – David MENDES DA SILVA — Holland int’l — fr AZ Alkmaar (Hol)
mf – Jacob JANTSCHER ————– Austria int’l — fr LASK Linz
mf – Stefan HIERLAENDER ——– Austria — fr FK Austria Kaernten
gk – Gerhard TRAMMEL ————- Germany — fr FC Energie Cottbus (Ger)
gk – Alexander WALKE ————— Germany — fr FC Hansa Rostock (Ger)

(Wallner had been on loan with Red Bull Salzburg since January; Vonlanthen was on loan at FC Zurich for the 2009-10 season; Boghossian was on loan for the 2009-10 with Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina)

Players Departing
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fw – Alexander ZICKLER —- Germany int’l — to LASK Linz
fw – Dorde RAKIC ————– Serbia — to TSV 1860 Munich (Ger)
fw – Christoph KROEPFL —- Austria — to SV Kapfenburg
mf – Somen TCHOYI ———- Cameroon int’l — to West Bromwich Albion (Eng)
mf – Admir VLADAVIC —— Bosnia / Herz int’l — to MSK Zilina (Svk)
mf – Karel PITAK ————— Czech Rep — to FK Jablonec (Cze)
df – Barry OPDAM ————– Holland int’l — to FC Volendam (Hol)
df – Anis BOUSSADI ———– Tunisia int’l — to PAOK Thessaloniki (Greece)
gk – Heinz ARZBERGER —— Austria int’l — retired
gk – Wolfgang SCHOBER —- Austria — to TSV Hartberg

(Rakic had been on loan at 1860 Munich since February; free transfer finalized in early August)

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FC RED BULL SALZBURG squad
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33 – GK – Eddie GUSTAFSSON ——— (SWEDEN – 10 caps)
31 – GK – Gerhard TREMMEL ———– (Germany)
27 – GK – Alexander WALKE ————- (Germany)

30 – DF – Milan DUDIC ——————— (SERBIA – 13 caps, 0 goals)
30 – DF – Rabiu AFOLABI —————– (NIGERIA – 20 caps, 1 goal)
29 – DF – Ibrahim SEKAGYA ————- (UGANDA – 22 caps, 3 goals)
26 – DF – Christian SCHWEGLER ——- (Switzerland)
24 – DF – Franz SCHIEMER ————— (AUSTRIA – 13 caps, 2 goals)
24 – DF – Andreas ULMER —————– (AUSTRIA – 2 caps, 0 goals)

29 – MF – Thom AUGUSTINUSSEN — (DENMARK – 2 caps, 0 goals)
29 – MF – Simon CZIOMMER ————– (Germany)
28 – MF – Ademir VLADAVIC ————– (BOSNIA / HRZG – 12 caps, 0 goals)
27 – MF – David MENDES DA SILVA — (HOLLAND – 7 caps, 0 goals)
25 – MF – Christian LEITGEB ————— (AUSTRIA – 27 caps, 0 goals)
24 – MF – Johan VANLANTHEN ——— (SWITZERLAND – 40 caps, 7 goals)
24 – MF – Dusan SVENTO ——————– (SLOVAKIA – 20 caps, 1 goal)
24 – MF – Nikola POKRIVAC ————— (CROATIA – 14 caps, 0 goals)
21 – MF – Jakob JANTSCHER ————– (AUSTRIA – 6 caps, 1 goal)
19 – MF – Stefan HIERLAENDER

32 – FW – Robin NELISSE ——————– (NETH ANTILLES – 2 caps, 0 goals)
28 – FW – Roman WALLNER —————- (AUSTRIA – 29 caps, 7 goals)
25 – FW – Gonzalo ZARATE —————— (Argentina)
24 – FW – Louis NGWAT-MAHOP ——– (Cameroon)
23 – FW – Joaquin BOGHOSSIAN ——— (Urugay)
21 – FW – ALAN D. B. de Carvalho ——– (Brazil)

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ROSTER UPDATES

7/28/10 — Uruguay striker JOAQUIN BOGHOSSIAN purchased by Red Bull Salzburg from CA Cerro Montevideo

8/10/10 — Serbia striker DORDE RAKIC permitted to stay permanently at TSV 1860 Munich in Germany on a free transfer; Rakic had been on loan at the club since February

8/10/10 — Brazil striker ALAN Douglas Borges de Carvalho purchased by Red Bull Salzburg from FC Fluminense

8/27/10 — Red Bull Salzburg sell Cameroon international midfielder SOMEN TCHOYI to English club West Bromwich Albion

HB Torshavn 1 – FC Red Bull Salzburg 0

UEFA Champions League
second round qualifying, second leg
7/20/2010

1 – HB Torshavn (F.I.) ——— Samuelsen 73′
0 – FC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT)

With a five-goal lead from the first leg, FC RED BULL SALZBURG manager HUUB STEVENS rested several starters and fielded a conservative five-man midfield.

Faroe Island international midfielder SIMUN SAMUELSEN, recently returned to domestic football after several seasons in Iceland with FC Keflavik, scored the game’s only goal and garnered a measure of respect for HB TORSHAVN, who triumph 1-0 in the home leg of the Champions League tie at the Gundadalur Stadium.

Havnar Boltfelag (Harbour Football Club) were founded in 1904 and represent the capital city of the Faroes.

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HB TORSHAVN : Thomsen ; Holm, Hreidarsson, Hanssen, Benjaminsen, Mortensen ; Jorgensen, Rubeksen, Poulsen, Samuelsen ; Flotum (Mouritsen 89′)

FC RED BULL SALZBURG : Walke ; Ulmer, Schiemer, Sekagya, Dudic ; Mendes da Silva (Pokrivac 34′), Jantscher (Ngwat-Mahop 71′), Cziommer (Svento 46′), Hierlaender, Leitgeb ; Zarate

FC Red Bull Salzburg 5 – HB Torshavn 0

UEFA Champions League
second round qualifying, first leg
7/13/2010

5 – FC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) — Zarate 21′, Jantscher 43′, Ulmer 46′, Wallner 64′, Hierlaender 82′
0 – HB Torshavn (F.I.)

A little more than twenty minutes is what it took for Argentine forward GONZALO ZARATE, newly arrived from Swiss club Grasshopper Zurich, to open his account on behalf of Red Bull Salzburg; youthful Austrian international midfielder JACOB JANTSCHER scored his first goal for his new club shortly before the halftime whistle.

Another new arrival, 19-year-old substitute midfielder STEFAN HIERLAENDER, applied the finishing touches as Austria’s champion, FC RED BULL SALZBURG, completely overwhelmed the visitors from the Faroe Islands, HB TORSHAVN, at the Red Bull Arena in Wels-Siezenheim.

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FC RED BULL SALZBURG : Tremmel ; Ulmer, Schiemer, Sekagya, Schwegler ; Mendes da Silva (Cziommer 60′), Jantscher, Svento (Pokrivac 60′), Leitgeb ; Zarate, Wallner (Hierlaender 75′)

HB TORSHAVN : Dawid ; Lag (Holm 77′), Hreidarsson, Kuljic (Hanssen 59′), Benjaminsen, Mortensen ; Jorgensen, Rubeksen, Poulsen, Samuelsen ; Flotum (Akselsen 75′)