The friendly clash between Red Bull Salzburg and Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon is unlikely to look anything like the slow-tempo clashes of pre-seasons old as two talented young managers continue their preparations for the coming campaign.
Danny Röhl has instilled a high-intensity way of thinking into the Wednesday squad since joining the club in October last year and will no doubt want to see plenty of the technical work they have put in to pre-season so far on display as he comes up against his old Red Bull employers.
It’s likely to be a case of fire fighting fire at Salzburg, with their new coach Pep Lijnders having expressed his desire for a full-throttle, aggressive outlook as he takes the reigns of senior management once more. Lijnders will be a figure recognisable to many Wednesday supporters having acted as right-hand man to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool from 2018 until recently, taking occasional media responsibilities from the German.
The Austrian side are further on in their summer programme – they are in minor cup action next Friday before kicking off their league campaign a week later – and have already played four formal friendlies to date. The Wednesday clash will be played at the Red Bull Arena behind closed doors and will serve as their final run-out before competitive action begins.
Speaking recently, Lijnders detailed his front-foot outlook on how he wishes Salzburg to play, with themes familiar to Owls supporters in Röhl’s time at S6.
“I want to play in the opposition half, I want to have the ball and if we lose it I want to get it back so we can attack again,” he said. “I always want to attack twice. It is in our mind to do it like this and to stay for as long as possible in the opposition half, not to let the opposition breathe. It is about pressing, counter-pressing, this becomes the main thing.
“I believe in 4-3-3 with three strikers, which already sounds different, but I like three strikers because you can press in a really unpredictable way, especially when the midfielders join the line. It is quite clear how I see the game, it’s quite clear how I see talent, how I see development.”
Wednesday make the trip to Germany today (Friday) ahead of their short trip over the border for their Salzburg clash. They have played one formal friendly so far – a low-key 2-0 win at Alfreton Town – as well as a training match at Brighton & Hove Albion in which The Star understands the Premier League side scored three unanswered goals. The Owls’ European training camp will end with a clash against Werder Bremen at Zell am Ziller on Friday July 26.