Keen-eyed readers will have noted with interest Blackburn Rovers’ opposition in Thursday’s UEFA Cup clash, for ‘FC Salzburg’ is none other than the scab Bundesliga outfit more commonly associated with a fizzy caffeine supplement.

UEFA’s decision to strip ‘Red Bull’ from the club’s name, badge and shirts for the duration of the tournament has thrown a spanner in the works of the firm’s well-oiled marketing machinery and caused great amusement in a corner of the city fans of the real Austria Salzburg call their own; where supporters of FC Zurich were welcomed during their recent trip to goad the city’s nouveau riche with anti-Red Bull rhetoric throughout a recent Champions League qualifying tie.

However, when Rovers fans began to contact the seventh division side in error ahead of their raids on the city’s bierhalles and were duly briefed on the recent takeover, the net outcome was indifference, not solidarity.

In a rare endorsement for the club’s oppressive and commercially-driven regime, the Lancastrians will join Red Bull Salzburg supporters in pre-match revelry, city walks, and a friendly football match in unprecedented moves which have left many right-minded folk scratching their heads and wondering precisely what English fans are made of.

Meanwhile, down in the basement, goal-crazy Austria Salzburg took just a solitary point from their pairings with fellow promotion rivals Schleedorf and Michaelbeuern – conceding for the first and only time this season – though an astonishing 11-0 demolition of rock-bottom Großgmain leaves them sitting a well-placed third in the table.

See also: Austria Salzburg, Red Bull by TBG | Comments Off