Lazio take on RB Salzburg in the quarter finals of the Europa League, and Football Italia gets the lowdown on the Austrian side.

Words: Ciro Di Brita (@Ciruzzo36)

Who are RB Salzburg?

They were previously known as SV Austria Salzburg before being bought by Red Bull in 2005, who changed it colours from traditional violet and blue to red and white. SV Austria Salzburg were founded in 1933 and won their first Bundesliga title in 1994, which was the first of three championships in the space of four years.

Lazio take on RB Salzburg in the quarter finals of the Europa League, and Football Italia gets the lowdown on the Austrian side.

Words: Ciro Di Brita (@Ciruzzo36)

Who are RB Salzburg?

They were previously known as SV Austria Salzburg before being bought by Red Bull in 2005, who changed it colours from traditional violet and blue to red and white. SV Austria Salzburg were founded in 1933 and won their first Bundesliga title in 1994, which was the first of three championships in the space of four years.

At that time, they were also going under the name of Casino Salzburg due to a sponsorship deal with a financial services company.

In 1994 they took on Inter in the two-legged UEFA Cup Final losing both legs 1-0, a Nicola Berti goal won the first leg for the Nerazzurri in the Ernst-Happel Stadion and a Wim Jonk goal at San Siro ensured the Milanese outfit lifted the trophy for the second time.

Giovanni Trapattoni was hired as manager in 2006 and led his team to their first title under the new guise of Red Bull Salzburg. Trapattoni would leave a year and a half later to take over the Republic of Ireland job.

In the 2011-2012 season RB Salzburg won their first League and Cup double, they have now gone on to win three more league and cup doubles while winning the Austrian Bundesliga title eight times since being rebranded. They currently sit in first place in the Bundesliga eight points clear of Sturm Graz. Israeli international striker Munas Dabbur is the division’s top marksman with 16 goals to his name and has six goals in this season’s Europa League.

Ones to watch

Kosovan midfielder Valon Berisha pulls the strings in the middle of the park for the Austrian side and scored twice in the 2-1 away win over Dortmund in the previous round.

He has scored four other times in this year’s competition, most notably when he came off the bench to tuck away a late penalty that gave his side a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad. Other players to keep an eye on are Dabbur and Norwegian striker Fredrik Gulbrandsen, who has seven league goals and three in Europe so far this season.

German Coach Marco Rose has a relatively young team and has them playing an attractive style of football that has seen them beat the likes of Dortmund, Real Sociedad, and Marseille in this year’s competition.

Previous meetings

RB Salzburg previously played Lazio in the 2009-2010 Europa League Group Stage and won both ties by a 2-1 score line. In the Olimpico Pasquale Foggia had given the Biancocelesti the lead only for Franz Schiemer to equalise before Marc Janko netted a last-minute winner. In the second game in the Red Bull Arena it was the home side that took the lead through Rabiu Afolabi, Pasquale Foggia equalised this time before Somen Tchoyi scored the winning goal. The Austrian side would end up winning every game in the Group Stage while Lazio went out in third place, unfortunately for RB Salzburg they would go out in the next round to Standard Liege of Belgium.

What are Lazio’s chances?

Simone Inzaghi’s men should go into this tie as slight favourites but will have to be on their toes as any hint of having the wrong attitude and underestimating the Austrian side will see them in trouble.   On the other hand, if the Biancocelesti play like they did in Ukraine when beating Dynamo Kyiv 2-0 they could be in with a good chance of making the Semi-Finals for this first time since the 2002-2003 season when they were well beaten by Porto over the two legs.

Bygaby

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