"Dream Team"

500 million eleven makes Salzburg’s fans dream

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Andreas Tröster, AFP/Cruciatti, GEPA/Geieregger, EPA/Wittek, AFP/Ellis, GEPA/Fischer, REUTERS/Rattay, AFP/Fassbender, AFP/Tallis)

This team makes the Bulls' fans go into raptures: If the Austrian runners-up had been able to keep their top players over the years, they would hardly have to shy away from comparison at an internal level

Everything used to be better," is a common refrain. Especially from creatures of habit who find innovation difficult. Whether everything was really better in the past is open to question. In the case of runners-up Salzburg, however, it is true. At least in the current situation.

While head coach Pep Lijnders' team has recently suffered one defeat after another and has had no chance on the international stage in particular, the Bulls were able to shine on the European stage not so long ago. Numerous players used Salzburg as a springboard to recommend themselves for higher tasks and are now playing for top clubs.

This begs the question: what if Salzburg had kept all of its top players? The "Krone" indulged in this gimmick and created a miracle team based on their current market values, making fans dream.

TOR
Philipp Köhn (€ 5 million) is the goalkeeper. The 26-year-old was once only the number three at the Salzach, but after a loan spell in Switzerland he served his way up to become the regular goalkeeper and is now under contract with AS Monaco under coach Adi Hütter.

DEFENSE
In the center, there is no getting around Bayern star Dayot Upamecano (45 million) and Milan newcomer Strahinja Pavlovic ( 20 million). Rasmus Kristensen, who is currently on loan at Frankfurt, and Leeds' Maximilian Wöber (10 million each) are preferred in the wing positions.

MIDFIELD
Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai (75m) is set on the left, which is why Karim Adeyemi (Dortmund, 35m) has to move to the right in our dream team. There is a tussle in the center, in which Bayern's Konrad Laimer (30 million) and Leipzig's Xaver Schlager (28 million) prevail.

ATTACK
The absolute superstar in Salzburg's all-star squad is Erling Haaland! The Norwegian now plays for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola and has a market value of 200 million euros! He is joined by Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko, who is worth 50 million euros. Together, the squad has a market value of just over half a billion euros!

RESERVISTS
Due to the star power in the starting eleven, there was no room for numerous other top players. Leipzig goalie Peter Gulacsi was just as much a bench warmer as the Premier League-proven "goal scorer" Hee-Chan Hwang (102 games) or Pavlovic's now-again team-mate Noah Okafor. The battle was particularly close in central midfield, where Nicolas Seiwald, Mo Camara and Amadou Haidara were left behind. Even Africa's two-time Footballer of the Year Sadio Mane - whose market value is still 15 million euros - had no chance of making the starting eleven. In the current selection, every single one of those mentioned would probably be a starter. Which is why, at least at Salzburg, everything used to be better!