Matthias Jaissle did not give up. In the penultimate minute of the round of 16 second leg at FC Bayern, when the score was 7-1 from Salzburg’s point of view, Jaissle stayed on the sidelines and tried to give 18-year-old Dane Maurits Kjaergaard a hint about how to approach the game as a striker. The young striker, who had scored the consolation goal a few minutes earlier, glanced in Jaissle’s direction before spinning once and missing, Bayern central defender Dayot Upamecano running past behind his back. Jaissle gave him an encouraging applause anyway, because for FC Red Bull Salzburg it was no longer about trying to stop FC Bayern in any way.
Jaissle, 33, was asked after the game if there were any lessons to be learned from the game, and in reply he spoke about appealing to his players’ “attitude” at half-time. “It is not self-evident that a young team still fights against it after being 4-0 at half-time,” said Jaissle, adding that the attitude was important to him. The Salzburg coach pointed out several times that he coached the youngest team in the competition – as well as the adverse circumstances that led to the biggest defeat in the club’s history in the European Cup.
Salzburg had 17 players infected with the corona virus between the first and second leg, so preparing for the trip to Munich was correspondingly difficult – and the fitness of the team had to be assessed accordingly. Captain Andreas Ulmer indicated that he had felt better in games. Jaissle reported that one or the other player got hit harder. According to his own statement, central defender Maximilian Wöber had a fever for several days. At the weekend, in the Bundesliga game against Altach, he had already been substituted at half-time. On Tuesday, Wöber then had the unpleasant task of dealing with one of the best strikers in the world – and failed, like so many before him.
Even passes into Karim Adeyemi’s run no longer worked in the second leg
Robert Lewandowski’s rapid turning movements in the penalty area led to two fouls from Wöber in the early stages and two penalty kicks to the 2-0 deficit, with the third goal he and goalkeeper Philipp Köhn hindered each other, again Lewandowski was the beneficiary. Salzburg would have had the opportunity to take the lead early on or at least to equalize quickly: Nicolas Capaldo and Nicolas Seiwald missed the best opportunities in the early stages. “We envisioned a different game,” Jaissle said. One in which an early goal might have led to some uncertainty at Bayern, which Julian Nagelsmann would have considered a perfectly conceivable scenario: “If you go behind in the fourth minute, you’ll start thinking.”
Had to comfort his players: Salzburg’s coach Matthias Jaissle (left) after the club’s heaviest European Cup defeat.
(Foto: Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
After the 0: 3, however, Salzburg hardly got a chance, even passes into the run of Karim Adeyemi, still the great strength in the first leg, no longer worked. Salzburg’s greatest talent was substituted in the second half and then retired to the dressing room after 68 minutes. It may have been Adeyemi’s last Champions League appearance for Salzburg.
The round of 16 is still the greatest success in the club’s history, but at the same time the 1:7 revealed: If the Austrians want to maintain this international level in the future, they need more than just great talent year after year, but also a more stable framework within the team. It’s possible that Salzburg’s philosophy isn’t to try everything to be able to keep up with FC Bayern – but to remain the ideal location for players like Maurits Kjaergaard, who still receive detailed instructions when they’re hopelessly behind – from a coach like Matthias Jaissle , who, as his thoughtful, analytical statements later showed, may also be destined for higher tasks.