Blue & Black kicks off its European campaign in Austria against RB Salzburg!
Find out all there is to know about this first leg game in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League here.
THE FIXTURE
On Wednesday, Club Brugge leaves the Belgian harbour as it sets sail for another season in Europe with an away game at RB Salzburg. It will be the 54th season in Europe for Blue & Black, with 32 consecutive appearances. This marks the 12th time in its history that Club plays qualifying rounds to reach the Champions League – a hurdle successfully taken five times before (in 1992, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2019).
The Salzburg game will be Club Brugge’s 374th European match, and the 35th in the UEFA Champions League qualifyiers. On 14 earlier occasions Club has faced Austrian opponents, including games against SK Rapid Wien, FK Austria Wien, LASK Linz, SK Sturm Graz, and RB Salzburg. The record on Austrian soil: 3 wins, 1 draw, and 4 defeats.
For the third time, Club and Salzburg will be facing eachother in a European competition. In the 2018-19, the UEFA Europe League Round of 32 was the last encounter, with Club winning 2-1 at Jan Breydel, but suffering a hefty 4-0 defeat in Austria.
The winner of this two-legged tie will face the winners of Rangers FC – FC Viktoria Pilzen in the play-offs. The first leg of that fixture ended in a 3-0 win for the Scots yesterday.
THE OPPONENT
RB Salzburg was founded in 1933 under the name Austria Salzburg and changed its name and club colors in 2005 following a takeover by Red Bull GmbH. Since then, the club has won the Austrian league 14 times and lifted the Cup 9 times.
Last season, Salzburg finished second behind Sturm Graz, earning them a spot in the UCL after qualifying rounds. In the league stage, they collected just 3 points, but notably won away at Feyenoord (1-3). As Salzburg had qualified for the UCL for six consecutive years, they took part in the FIFA Club World Cup last summer, finishing third in a group with Real Madrid, Al-Hilal, and CF Pachuca.
Since January, the club has been led by 56-year-old German coach Thomas Letsch. After a short Summer break, Salzburg started the new season early, easily going past SK Brann Bergen (4-1 away, 1-1 at home) in an earlier UCL qualifier, and winning a Cup match against Union Dietach (0-4). However, they only managed a 2-2 draw in their league opener against newly promoted SV Ried.
This Summer saw the departure of key player Oscar Gloukh (AFC Ajax) and defender Samson Baidoo (RC Lens), but the club also signed several reinforcements, including Sota Kitano, Frans Krätzig, and Stefan Lainer. Well-known names in the squad include goalkeeper Alexander Schlager, striker Yorbe Vertessen, and former Westerlo player Dorgeles Nene.
MILESTONES
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Christos Tzolis could play his 60th official match for Club Brugge.
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Simon Mignolet could make his 60th European appearance for the Blues.
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Bjorn Meijer could reach his 20th European match for Club.
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Raphael Onyedika could play his 50th European match in his career (14 for FC Midtjylland, 35 for Club).
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Michał Skóraś could also reach 50 European matches (29 for Lech Poznań, 20 for Club).
THE MAN IN BLACK
The Serbian referee Mr. Srđan Jovanović will officiate the match at the Red Bull Arena. The 39-year-old from Belgrade is part of the UEFA Elite category and has officiated at the highest level in Serbia since 2014. He has been active internationally since 2015.
Mr. Jovanović previously officiated a European match involving Club Brugge in 2021, when Blue-Black lost 0-1 to FC Dynamo Kyiv in the UEFA Europe League. This will be the sixth time a Serbian referee officiates a Club Brugge match. He will be assisted by compatriots Mr. Uroš Stojković and Mr. Milan Mihajlović as assistant referees, Mr. Novak Simović as fourth official, and VAR Mr. Momčilo Marković, who will be supported by Ms. Jelena Cvetković.
The UEFA referee observer is Mr. Tomasz Mikulski, and the UEFA delegate is Mr. Peadar Ryan.