Blue-Black kicks off its European campaign in Austria against RB Salzburg!
Discover everything about this first leg match in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League below.
THE MATCH
On Wednesday, Club Brugge takes its first steps in the European season with an away game against RB Salzburg. Blue-Black begins its 54th European season, the last 32 of which have been consecutive. This marks the 12th time in its history that Club plays qualifying rounds to reach the Champions League – it has succeeded five times before (in 1992, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2019).
This will be Club Brugge’s 374th European match in its history, and the 35th in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds. Blue-Black has already faced Austrian opponents 14 times, including matches 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 losses.
Club and Salzburg now face each other for the third time in European competition. In the 2018-19 UEFA Europe League Round of 32, Club won 2-1 at the Jan Breydel Stadium, but suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat in Austria.
The winner of this two-legged tie will face the winner of Rangers FC – FC Viktoria Pilzen in the play-offs.
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 and secured a place in the UCL via the 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, qualifying smoothly against SK Brann Bergen (4-1 away, 1-1 at home) 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.