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Salzburg’s return to its roots

Adam Daghim and Co. are pressing like never before.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

For years, the terms "Red Bull system" and "pressing" went hand in hand. Under coaches such as Marco Rose or Jesse Marsch, Salzburg always started extremely early and put their opponents under pressure in their half. This style of play always went down well with the fans, even if it involved a lot of risk.

However, when Matthias Jaissle took over at the helm of the Bulls in 2021, there was no longer much sign of pressing. They played much more defensively under him. His successor Gerhard Struber wanted to play more offensively again, but he didn't really succeed.

But now it seems as if the Bulls are returning to their roots - Pep Lijnders is an advocate of the high approach. And his work is already bearing fruit. In the test matches, his team has already scored several goals as a result of winning the ball in the opponent's half.

Maurits Kjaergaard 's 2:0 in the 34th minute against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday also fell into this category. "I showed the lads the goal again at half-time. That's the mentality we need to have," said the 41-year-old happily.

Incidentally, the Dutchman calls the pressing "organized chaos". It will be exciting to see how this works in the first competitive matches of the new season.