Salzburg miss Champions League berth again

Austrian champions lose out for 11th consecutive year

Austrian champions Salzburg were left to contemplate another botched attempt at reaching the Champions League group stage on Wednesday after falling in the qualifiers for a remarkable 11th time in a row.

Salzburg, with nine titles in 13 seasons, have dominated the Austrian Bundesliga since receiving financial backing from the Red Bull energy drink makers in 2005 but reaching the Champions League group stage has proved an impossible task.

Not for the first time they were agonisingly close to fulfilling their dream on Wednesday when, with a 0-0 draw in the bag from the first leg of their playoff a week ago, they took a 2-0 lead at home to Red Star Belgrade in the return.

Instead, they threw it away as Comoros striker El Fardou Ben Nabouhane scored twice in quick succession to earn the Serbian side a 2-2 draw and an away goals victory.

Salzburg, with nine titles in 13 seasons, have dominated the Austrian Bundesliga since receiving financial backing.

Two years ago, Salzburg came within a minute of reaching the group stage when they led Dinamo Zagreb in the second leg of the play-off, but they conceded a late equaliser and went on to lose in extra time.

Two years before that, they led Malmo 2-0 at home in the first leg of the play-off, but hit the woodwork three times, allowed the Swedes to snatch an away goal in the last minute and lost the return match 3-0.

Red Bull’s influence over the club has not been to everyone’s liking and a decision to change the team colours from the traditional purple and white to a corporate white and red was particularly unpopular.