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"Žalgiris" successfully advancing in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers had to face the Austrian vice-champion Red Bull Salzburg in the final stage.
The difficult arrival of "Red Bull" in 2005.
In 2005, the club, purchased by the energy drink manufacturer "Red Bull," has won the entire Austrian league seven times - the last time they managed to do it was in the 2011-2012 season. At that time, the Salzburg club also won the Austrian Cup. This year, "Red Bull" started the Austrian Bundesliga powerfully - winning the first two matches with the same score of 5:1 and drawing 1:1 with Innsbruck Wacker in the third match.
Nevertheless, with 11 goals scored in three matches and a crushing victory over Vienna "Austria" in the second round, they are currently in the leader's position.
However, the club founded in 1933 also went through a difficult period. The financially troubled "Austria Salzburg" was acquired by the "Red Bull" company in 2005, but the rescue for the team was short-lived. Soon, a large part of the fans distanced themselves from the newly established club and in the same 2005, founded the Salzburg "SV Austria" team.
The team is coached by 46-year-old German Roger Schmidt since last year. The average age of the "Red Bull" team players is 21.7 years, and the football market site "Transfermarkt" values them at €41.5 million.
Competing with "Sūduva"
In the UEFA Europa League qualifiers of 2008–2009, the "Red Bull" club faced Marijampolė's "Sūduva" in the second qualification round.
In Marijampolė, the Lithuanian club was crushed by the visitors from Austria 4:1, but in Salzburg, "Sūduva" managed to win 1:0. However, in the next round, the Austrians were crushed by Sevilla 0:4.
