Bull boss Reiter
“I see no reason to change anything”
Turning point at FC Red Bull Salzburg! Managing director Stephan Reiter talks about more routine in the team in a major interview with the "Krone". He also answers the question of who is to blame for the current misery. Plus: An assignment from Dietrich Mateschitz and what he thinks of Jürgen Klopp.
"Krone": Sporting success has been lacking recently, as have goals and the typical Red Bull soccer. Who is to blame for the current crisis?
Stephan Reiter: You have to look back a bit and understand what we have achieved as a club in recent years in addition to winning ten championship titles in a row and reaching the Champions League five times. There were also transfer records. That was almost unique when it comes to the development of young players and coaches. As a result, we reached an altitude that required a huge effort to maintain. It created an expectation that we always had to win and dominate everyone. But that's where our system reached its limits. We've already seen in the last two or three years that things have become increasingly difficult, because they've been far from smooth. An important step is to recognize that we are currently not the best and what we need to do to get there again. We need to learn from this, and this process is currently taking place. We have therefore made a joint and very conscious decision that we need to develop further.
Why did the lead get smaller and smaller?
We became predictable and copyable in the way we played soccer. We are also no longer the only ones relying on "Jugend forscht". It's also a fact that ten other clubs in the Bundesliga have Red Bull in them - that's just as true for the top clubs, even if a Viennese club might not like to hear that (laughs). It has played into our hands in the past that other clubs have changed coaches relatively often and therefore had little stability. Now the gap has narrowed and we didn't become champions last season. Therefore, after careful consultation with our sporting experts and by using our network, we decided that we had to develop in a new way. We had to make a change in order to be able to dominate an Austrian league again in the medium term and have a competitive edge. We will of course retain our basic concept of training players and giving them the opportunity to develop. That was a conscious decision and Berni (Seonbuchner, note) has succeeded in hiring a highly competent coach in Pep Lijnders. The process got off to a fantastic start and we saw what is possible when you approach the task with freedom and an open mind. But I also knew that things wouldn't go up in a linear fashion. Our preparation was excellent, we qualified for the Champions League again. That was outstanding in economic terms. But whether that has helped us in our sporting development must be questioned. We are not yet at that level, you can clearly see that and there is nothing to gloss over. So there is no one person to blame. Even if many are calling for that, it would be too easy to pick out one person and blame them for everything.
There is no one person to blame. Even though many are calling for this, it would be too easy to pick out one person to blame for everything.
Stephan REITER über die Schuldfrage
Salzburg has turned away from the successful path of replacing its own coaches. With Pep Lijnders, they brought in an external coach who also brought his support team with him. Was that an essential part of the new approach?
After 30 years of professional experience, I realize that you can't change anything and keep the old at the same time. You can only change something by allowing something new to grow. That's why we decided to do this together in the sporting field. The coaching pipeline was already somewhat exhausted when we brought in Gerhard Struber. Christoph Freund already interpreted it that way at the time. If you always fill positions internally, you run the risk of cooking your own soup too much. We then brought in Pep Lijnders and were happy that a man with his knowledge had come in!
Was there a sticking point?
FC Red Bull Salzburg started the season with the aim of winning the cup and regaining the league title. We also wanted to play in Europe. Qualifying for the Champions League came as a bit of a surprise to us at the time. The two other goals remain unchanged, and we are definitely not writing them off! However, we can see that the road ahead will be challenging.
What happened after the game in Prague?
From that game onwards, it became extremely challenging and our performance dropped off significantly. But there are various reasons for that. If I calculate the net time the coach has the team available for training, for example, that's only four and a half weeks after the international breaks. Every single one was an English week with two games. Then you have a regeneration day and a match preparation. In concrete terms, this means that the coaching team had ten to twelve days in which to work with the team. In between, we had to constantly learn the ropes in the Champions League with a young team that is undergoing a process of change. On top of that, things like the story with Janis Blaswich and Alexander Schlager and injuries happen, forcing the coach to change his line-up. I understand every fan who condemns this from the stands. But I also see what's going on in the background and how hard they're working. That's why it's important to keep calm. It has always been one of our strengths to give the right things a chance and that is exactly what we will certainly do now. The current situation requires a lot of strength, but I can also feel how the pressure from outside is bringing everyone together internally. If I look at the past, there were also difficult phases - keyword Düdelingen. After that, a lot of things were adapted and we had the courage to expect and allow things to happen. After the Soriano transfer, there were "Christoph Freund out" posters, he was called clueless and an apprentice. Today he works for Bayern Munich. We never lost our nerve there either. You just forget that very quickly.
Where do you currently see the club as a whole compared to Sturm Graz or Rapid?
From an economic point of view in terms of squad value and the other parameters, FC Red Bull Salzburg is clearly the most stable club. But that was also the case last year and we still didn't win the championship by a very narrow margin. We have recently experienced a fairly quiet transfer summer by our standards.
What do you expect in sporting terms?
I have every confidence in the current team to win the championship title, even if we are struggling at the moment. The quality in the squad is certainly there, as is that of the coaching team, and we definitely have the infrastructure for it. These are many important factors that speak in our favor. Do we need to get back on track? One hundred percent yes! Does the Champions League help at the moment? Probably not! And yet we are looking forward to playing there.
Does that mean the club will not react in the short term in terms of personnel?
I still see Dietrich Mateschitz's mission and idea: to develop soccer further, be innovative and think ahead, in line with our mission statement. At the moment, I see absolutely no reason to change anything.
The fan block is getting smaller and smaller, supporters are leaving the stadium early. The anger is huge. Do we need to make concessions?
I'm not denying that we've made mistakes in recent years. I was aware that not every stadium visitor was a real fan during our heyday. But we still have a lot of people who are intensively involved with the club and identify with it. I understand that there are a few concerns at the moment. We probably haven't prepared the fans enough for the changes that started in the summer.
We probably didn't get the fans excited enough about the changes that started in the summer.
Stephan REITER
The fans are angry when the coach thinks a 0-0 draw at Wattens is good or the sporting director talks about how we should be able to play up front with this squad.
That surprised me a bit too, but I understand why they say that. Nobody needs to believe that Pep or Bernhard will be happy if we draw against Wattens. But it's understandable to me that they put themselves in front of the team at times like this.
They've just admitted their mistakes. That's what many fans would have wished for from those responsible for the sport. Does Salzburg have to put up with the criticism of sugar-coating things?
I always try to free challenges from emotions and only then resolve them. If the officials then also lash out at the players or the coach or the sporting director, then the question arises as to how helpful that is.
It would be enough to call a spade a spade.
I can reassure everyone in the outside world that we are discussing this very critically.
You don't hear much about it on the outside.
Not everything can be discussed in public. One thing is clear: fans want to see victories, and we're not delivering enough of them at the moment. Nevertheless, our job is to see the processes and keep calm. What does give me pause for thought is how much criticism we are receiving from one moment to the next. People have congratulated me and described the new coach as the "best deal ever". They were desperate for a four-pack for the Champions League. And weeks later, the same people are telling me what idiots we are. But I remain an optimist and see an opportunity in every change.
There is an incredibly large gap between the club's economic success and its sporting achievements. How do you intend to close this gap?
Patience alone is of course not enough. But none of us are sitting back and just watching. The economic figures have developed superbly, so we can also initiate such a change. But they are correlating vessels. Nobody should believe that the economic development would continue if the performance remained the same. Not even the players.
Do we need more anchor players? There were rumors about Max Wöber and Hannes Wolf, for example.
I know everything that was discussed, I've heard the names too. But at the end of the day, regardless of names, it's about those responsible for the sport deciding which player can help at what time. We have developed excellently financially in recent years, but FC Red Bull Salzburg also has financial limits. We also need financial squad hygiene, the gap in salaries must not widen. You can see from our budgets what we invest, but there are limits. That's another reason why not every transfer is feasible. But yes, from my point of view we also need more experienced players. Pep and his team have noted that we need them to further develop our system. Bernhard and his team have tried. It didn't work. We can react to this issue again in the winter.
There have been rumors that Jörg Schmadtke is coming to Salzburg.
I can clearly deny that, there have been no talks. Of course, as managing director, it's my duty to look around Europe to see what the best structure is, regardless of individuals. The sport and the competitions continue to develop, so we observe how other clubs operate in order to manage the business in the best possible way. Perhaps new structures are also needed. Soccer has become a complex business, so it is our duty to keep our eyes and ears open.
Is it an issue to bring in someone on the sporting side?
It is an issue that we look at the structures so that we can work in the best possible way for the future. I am one hundred percent convinced that we need to position ourselves even better.
We need to look at the structures so that we can work in the best possible way for the future. I am one hundred percent convinced that we need to position ourselves even better.
Stephan REITER
Red Bull caused quite a stir with the signing of Jürgen Klopp. What does his commitment mean for Salzburg?
We have always worked very closely with our sponsor Red Bull and have been very happy to receive meaningful input - as we have from other partners. I am therefore delighted about this commitment and have already been in contact with Jürgen. With Jürgen Klopp, we have managed to get someone on board who can also provide us with incredible support. He won't solve any problems or make any decisions for us, we'll continue to do that ourselves. But Jürgen Klopp can certainly support us on our way.
The Group is expanding its soccer network very rapidly. What does this mean for Salzburg as a location?
There are enormous synergies for us, which we will use as we have in the past. This network has enormous advantages, particularly in the development of players or coaches and in employee prospects. Even though we are an independent club, it is attractive to make use of this network
Could Salzburg's status within Red Bull's soccer empire decline?
I think it's up to us as managers and every single employee to do our job well so that FC Red Bull Salzburg is led to where it deserves to be. Then we will always have our role. It's up to us.
You have a contract until 2026. Can you guarantee to fulfill it?
In my role, you always have opportunities. But I can assure you that I will fulfill my contract. I am committed to the club! We have just started something and we will see it through together and grow together as a team. It would be absolutely the wrong time to leave the club now.
Do we need to make a move in the winter?
I don't want to get ahead of those responsible for the sport, but I think we have to try. Every now and then windows open up and we want to take advantage of them. We also need individual players in our structure who are fundamentally willing to play 100 or 200 games for us.
Does that mean you want players who identify even more with the club?
Yes! That will be the result. Alex (Schlager), who hasn't been here for years, has made a conscious decision to return. We can also inspire players with our possibilities, we are an attractive club. Sladdi Junuzovic was a great example, he gave us enormous stability and found his way with us. He trained as a coach and is now a valuable member of our scouting department.
The coach and sporting director have come in for a lot of criticism recently, less so the team. What message do you have for the players?
Everyone at this club has a responsibility, especially our players. Nobody can duck away! The team has to stand its ground now and can only come out of this together. Everyone has to take responsibility for themselves. Nobody should put their ego above the team. It should be clear to everyone: If the collective doesn't work, individual careers won't work either. Joint success is the basis for this.
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