Austrian Bundesliga
Sunday 13th May 2018
When planning a trip to Central Europe a few months ago, the initial idea was to take in games at Ferencvaros and Ujpest on the same weekend and have a long stress-free weekend in Budapest, enjoying what the Hungarian capital has to offer.
The plan seemed watertight, flights were cheap enough (£45 return thanks to WizzAir) and everything was in place apart from the Hungarian FA needing to confirm the specific dates and kick-off times for the individual games.
Then came the bombshell...
Ujpest's game with Puskas Akademia would kick-off just a couple of hours before Ferencvaros' game with Vasas. Whilst there was a half-hour gap or so between one game finishing and the other starting, logistically it seemed unlikely to be able to do both without an expensive taxi ride being thrown into the equation to get from one ground to another.
Both games were scheduled for the Saturday, however, which did at least allow for the opportunity to check out other 'nearby' options for the following day.
A quick glance through the fixture list revealed that Rapid Vienna and Red Bull Salzburg (arguably the two biggest teams in Austria) were playing each other. With tickets available, much to my surprise, and at a relatively good price, the game was simply too good to turn down so 'Plan B' was put into action.
A 'Plan C' did very, very nearly come to fruition as RB Salzburg reached the UEFA Europa League semi-finals and actually got back on level terms at one point during their second-leg tie with Marseille. Had they won, with the final being scheduled for just three days after this game with Rapid Vienna, who knows whether it would have been re-arranged to an earlier day.
Thankfully, they didn't reach the final though and the rest, as they say, is history!
Travel to Vienna from Budapest was around £10 each way courtesy of FlixBus with the journey itself only taking around three hours by road.
After arriving at Erdberg bus station mid-morning and spending a few hours enjoying the different sights, sounds and sunshine of the Austrian capital, I then made the journey across town to Rapid Vienna's relatively new Allianz Stadion, which is situated close to Hutteldorf Station at the end of the U4 'Green' U Bahn line - around a 20-25 minute metro journey from the city centre.
As new-build stadiums go, this venue is eye-catching, impressive and possesses a lot of character and was built on the site of the old Gerhard Hanappi Stadion which was demolished in 2014.
The new stadium is around a five-minute walk from Hutteldorf Station and if the strong smell of hot dogs being cooked or one of what looked to be numerous beer gardens doesn't draw you in, then the swish exterior of the executive entrance and fancy exterior to the stadium will certainly capture your attention.
Sadly, as impressive as the new stadium is, Rapid's performance on the pitch left plenty to be desired and their capitulation had similarities to Brazil's infamous crumbling to Germany in the World Cup semi-finals, four years ago.
To say that RB Salzburg began the game on the front foot would be an understatement. Straight from kick-off, the visitors sought to take control and they underlined pretty emphatically why they've dominated the Austrian Bundesliga for the past decade.
Less than five minutes were on the clock when Salzburg opened the scoring as Rapid's 'keeper inexcusably fumbled Amadou Haidara's shot from the edge of the area which subsequently allowed Patrick Farkas to smash the ball into a more or less empty net.
The hosts spurned a glorious chance to get back on level terms not long afterwards when Thomas Murg dispossessed an opponent in midfield and saw his shot come back off the post after advancing forwards. Cican Stankovic, in the RB goal, was equal to Veton Berisha's follow-up attempt.
With Vienna still licking their wounds, Salzburg seized the initiative and launched a rapid attack of their own just a minute later and doubled their lead as Munas Dabbur poked home from close-range after 'pinball' defending from the hosts.
Even by this early stage, the gulf between the two sides was pretty damn obvious and it wasn't much longer until the visitors essentially put the result beyond any reasonable doubt as Fredrik Gulbrandsen was released down the inside-right channel and he produced an elegant chip over the advancing 'keeper made it 3-0.
The goal meant it was already a case of 'Goodnight Rapid Vienna' yet there was still an hour left to endure for home supporters.
Fortunately, the scoreline didn't get any worse for the former giants of the Austrian Bundesliga as the 'new money' club spurned plenty of further chances to rub salt into Rapid's gaping wounds. Nevertheless, the half-time scoreline of 0-3 flattered the hosts as it could quite easily have been a bigger margin!
Rapid attempted to restore some pride after the re-start and at least plugged the defensive holes that had cost them so dearly in the opening 45 minutes - even still, RB created more openings and came close to extending their lead further on a couple of occasions.
It was a case of 'too little, too late' by the time Berisha reduced arrears with a quarter-of-an-hour left to play, but the 1-3 scoreline didn't stay in place for long as Dabbur soon re-established Salzburg's three-goal cushion with a clever finish.
Again, it was 'Goodnight Rapid Vienna'...
 |
| Before the game at the Allianz Stadion |
When planning a trip to Central Europe a few months ago, the initial idea was to take in games at Ferencvaros and Ujpest on the same weekend and have a long stress-free weekend in Budapest, enjoying what the Hungarian capital has to offer.
The plan seemed watertight, flights were cheap enough (£45 return thanks to WizzAir) and everything was in place apart from the Hungarian FA needing to confirm the specific dates and kick-off times for the individual games.
Then came the bombshell...
Ujpest's game with Puskas Akademia would kick-off just a couple of hours before Ferencvaros' game with Vasas. Whilst there was a half-hour gap or so between one game finishing and the other starting, logistically it seemed unlikely to be able to do both without an expensive taxi ride being thrown into the equation to get from one ground to another.
 |
| Plan B was a trip here! |
Both games were scheduled for the Saturday, however, which did at least allow for the opportunity to check out other 'nearby' options for the following day.
A quick glance through the fixture list revealed that Rapid Vienna and Red Bull Salzburg (arguably the two biggest teams in Austria) were playing each other. With tickets available, much to my surprise, and at a relatively good price, the game was simply too good to turn down so 'Plan B' was put into action.
 |
| The very impressive executive entrance |
A 'Plan C' did very, very nearly come to fruition as RB Salzburg reached the UEFA Europa League semi-finals and actually got back on level terms at one point during their second-leg tie with Marseille. Had they won, with the final being scheduled for just three days after this game with Rapid Vienna, who knows whether it would have been re-arranged to an earlier day.
Thankfully, they didn't reach the final though and the rest, as they say, is history!
 |
| Another look at the exterior of the stadium |
Travel to Vienna from Budapest was around £10 each way courtesy of FlixBus with the journey itself only taking around three hours by road.
After arriving at Erdberg bus station mid-morning and spending a few hours enjoying the different sights, sounds and sunshine of the Austrian capital, I then made the journey across town to Rapid Vienna's relatively new Allianz Stadion, which is situated close to Hutteldorf Station at the end of the U4 'Green' U Bahn line - around a 20-25 minute metro journey from the city centre.
As new-build stadiums go, this venue is eye-catching, impressive and possesses a lot of character and was built on the site of the old Gerhard Hanappi Stadion which was demolished in 2014.
 |
| Good weather and a pretty good stadium |
The new stadium is around a five-minute walk from Hutteldorf Station and if the strong smell of hot dogs being cooked or one of what looked to be numerous beer gardens doesn't draw you in, then the swish exterior of the executive entrance and fancy exterior to the stadium will certainly capture your attention.
Sadly, as impressive as the new stadium is, Rapid's performance on the pitch left plenty to be desired and their capitulation had similarities to Brazil's infamous crumbling to Germany in the World Cup semi-finals, four years ago.
To say that RB Salzburg began the game on the front foot would be an understatement. Straight from kick-off, the visitors sought to take control and they underlined pretty emphatically why they've dominated the Austrian Bundesliga for the past decade.
 |
| The teams warm-up ahead of the game |
Less than five minutes were on the clock when Salzburg opened the scoring as Rapid's 'keeper inexcusably fumbled Amadou Haidara's shot from the edge of the area which subsequently allowed Patrick Farkas to smash the ball into a more or less empty net.
The hosts spurned a glorious chance to get back on level terms not long afterwards when Thomas Murg dispossessed an opponent in midfield and saw his shot come back off the post after advancing forwards. Cican Stankovic, in the RB goal, was equal to Veton Berisha's follow-up attempt.
With Vienna still licking their wounds, Salzburg seized the initiative and launched a rapid attack of their own just a minute later and doubled their lead as Munas Dabbur poked home from close-range after 'pinball' defending from the hosts.
 |
| An impressive stadium which is worth a visit |
Even by this early stage, the gulf between the two sides was pretty damn obvious and it wasn't much longer until the visitors essentially put the result beyond any reasonable doubt as Fredrik Gulbrandsen was released down the inside-right channel and he produced an elegant chip over the advancing 'keeper made it 3-0.
The goal meant it was already a case of 'Goodnight Rapid Vienna' yet there was still an hour left to endure for home supporters.
 |
| It was a good day for the few hundred visiting RB Salzburg fans |
Fortunately, the scoreline didn't get any worse for the former giants of the Austrian Bundesliga as the 'new money' club spurned plenty of further chances to rub salt into Rapid's gaping wounds. Nevertheless, the half-time scoreline of 0-3 flattered the hosts as it could quite easily have been a bigger margin!
Rapid attempted to restore some pride after the re-start and at least plugged the defensive holes that had cost them so dearly in the opening 45 minutes - even still, RB created more openings and came close to extending their lead further on a couple of occasions.
It was a case of 'too little, too late' by the time Berisha reduced arrears with a quarter-of-an-hour left to play, but the 1-3 scoreline didn't stay in place for long as Dabbur soon re-established Salzburg's three-goal cushion with a clever finish.
 |
| Rapid fans get the pyro's going after their goal |
Again, it was 'Goodnight Rapid Vienna'...
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